diff options
| author | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-05 06:18:50 -0800 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-05 06:18:50 -0800 |
| commit | 88f6b258bd0d2c197be4f0e21b8a120807c9c924 (patch) | |
| tree | 60f26e5a475c6b81791ed7758981b77b67fac596 | |
| parent | 25dccc9db3cdd6a3b618b2b7803409a549d4778d (diff) | |
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50929-0.txt | 5802 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50929-0.zip | bin | 117915 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50929-h.zip | bin | 286546 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50929-h/50929-h.htm | 7781 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50929-h/images/ad1-200.jpg | bin | 12379 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50929-h/images/ad2a-200.jpg | bin | 10176 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50929-h/images/ad2b-200.jpg | bin | 11536 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50929-h/images/ad2c-200.jpg | bin | 15596 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50929-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 75685 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50929-h/images/titlepage.jpg | bin | 37019 -> 0 bytes |
13 files changed, 17 insertions, 13583 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cae5755 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50929 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50929) diff --git a/old/50929-0.txt b/old/50929-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 20a7c03..0000000 --- a/old/50929-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5802 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Ethan Allen, by Henry Hall - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Ethan Allen - The Robin Hood of Vermont - -Author: Henry Hall - -Release Date: January 15, 2016 [EBook #50929] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ETHAN ALLEN *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, John Campbell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE - - Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. - Bold text is denoted by =equal signs=. - - Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been - corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within - the text and consultation of external sources. - - More detail can be found at the end of the book. - - - - - ETHAN ALLEN - The Robin Hood of Vermont - - BY - HENRY HALL - - [Illustration: RUINS OF TICONDEROGA] - - NEW YORK - D. APPLETON AND COMPANY - 1892 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1892, - BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -At the time of the death of Mr. Henry Hall, in 1889, the manuscript -for this volume consisted of finished fragments and many notes. It -was left in the hands of his daughters to complete. The purpose of -the author was to make a fuller life of Allen than has been written, -and singling him from that cluster of sturdy patriots in the New -Hampshire Grants, to make plain the vivid personality of a Vermont -hero to the younger generations. Mr. Hall's well-known habit of -accuracy and painstaking investigation must be the guaranty that this -"Life" is worthy of a place among the volumes of the history of our -nation. - - HENRIETTA HALL BOARDMAN. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. - PAGE - AN ACCOUNT OF ALLEN'S FAMILY, 1 - - - CHAPTER II. - - EARLY LIFE, HABITS OF THOUGHT, AND RELIGIOUS TENDENCIES, 12 - - - CHAPTER III. - - REMOVAL TO VERMONT.--THE NEW HAMPSHIRE GRANTS, 22 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - ALLEN AND THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.--NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN NEW YORK - AND THE NEW HAMPSHIRE GRANTS, 32 - - - CHAPTER V. - - THE RAID UPON COLONEL REID'S SETTLERS.--ALLEN'S OUTLAWRY.--CREAN - BRUSH.--PHILIP SKENE, 46 - - - CHAPTER VI. - - PREPARATIONS TO CAPTURE TICONDEROGA.--DIARY OF EDWARD - MOTT.--EXPEDITIONS PLANNED.--BENEDICT ARNOLD.--GERSHOM BEACH, 61 - - - CHAPTER VII. - - CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA, 73 - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - ALLEN'S LETTERS TO THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, TO THE NEW YORK - PROVINCIAL CONGRESS, AND TO THE MASSACHUSETTS CONGRESS, 81 - - - CHAPTER IX. - - ALLEN'S LETTERS TO THE MONTREAL MERCHANTS, TO THE INDIANS IN - CANADA, AND TO THE CANADIANS.--JOHN BROWN, 89 - - - CHAPTER X. - - WARNER ELECTED COLONEL OF THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.--ALLEN'S - LETTER TO GOVERNOR TRUMBULL.--CORRESPONDENCE IN REGARD TO THE - INVASION OF CANADA.--ATTACK ON MONTREAL.--DEFEAT AND - CAPTURE.--WARNER'S REPORT, 98 - - - CHAPTER XI. - - ALLEN'S NARRATIVE.--ATTACK ON MONTREAL.--DEFEAT AND - SURRENDER.--BRUTAL TREATMENT.--ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND.--DEBATES IN - PARLIAMENT, 110 - - - CHAPTER XII. - - LIFE IN PENDENNIS CASTLE.--LORD NORTH.--ON BOARD THE - "SOLEBAY."--ATTENTIONS RECEIVED IN IRELAND AND MADEIRA, 128 - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - RENDEZVOUS AT CAPE FEAR.--SICKNESS.--HALIFAX JAIL.--LETTER TO - GENERAL MASSEY.--VOYAGE TO NEW YORK.--ON PAROLE, 144 - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - RELEASE FROM PRISON.--WITH WASHINGTON AT VALLEY FORGE.--THE - HALDIMAND CORRESPONDENCE, 162 - - - CHAPTER XV. - - VERMONT'S TREATMENT BY CONGRESS.--ALLEN'S LETTERS TO COLONEL - WEBSTER AND TO CONGRESS.--REASONS FOR BELIEVING ALLEN A PATRIOT, 173 - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - ALLEN WITH GATES.--AT BENNINGTON.--DAVID REDDING.--REPLY TO - CLINTON.--EMBASSIES TO CONGRESS.--COMPLAINT AGAINST BROTHER - LEVI.--ALLEN IN COURT, 183 - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - ALLEN AT GUILFORD.--"ORACLES OF REASON."--JOHN STARK.--ST. JOHN - DE CRÈVECŒUR.--HONORS TO ALLEN.--SHAY'S REBELLION.--SECOND - MARRIAGE, 191 - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - DEATH.--CIVILIZATION IN ALLEN'S TIME.--ESTIMATES OF - ALLEN.--RELIGIOUS FEELING IN VERMONT.--MONUMENTS, 198 - - - - -ETHAN ALLEN. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -AN ACCOUNT OF HIS FAMILY. - - -Ethan Allen is the Robin Hood of Vermont. As Robin Hood's life was -an Anglo-Saxon protest against Norman despotism, so Allen's life was -a protest against domestic robbery and foreign tyranny. As Sherwood -Forest was the rendezvous of the gallant and chivalrous Robin Hood, -so the Green Mountains were the home of the dauntless and high-minded -Ethan Allen. As Robin Hood, in Scott's "Ivanhoe," so does Allen, -in Thompson's "Green Mountain Boys," win our admiration. Although -never a citizen of the United States, he is one of the heroes of -the state and the nation; one of those whose names the people will -not willingly let die. History and tradition, song and story, -sculpture, engraving, and photography alike blazon his memory from -ocean to ocean. The librarian of the great library at Worcester, -Massachusetts, told Colonel Higginson that the book most read was -Daniel P. Thompson's "Green Mountain Boys." Already one centennial -celebration of the capture of Ticonderoga has been celebrated. Who -can tell how many future anniversaries of that capture our nation -will live to see! Another reason for refreshing our memories with -the history of Allen is the bitterness with which he is attacked. -He has been accused of ignorance, weakness of mind, cowardice, -infidelity, and atheism. Among his assailants have been the president -of a college, a clergyman, editors, contributors to magazines and -newspapers, and even a local historian among a variety of writers of -greater or less prominence. If Vermont is careful of her own fame, -well does it become the people to know whether Ethan Allen was a hero -or a humbug. - -Arnold calls history the vast Mississippi of falsehood. The untruths -that have been published about Allen during the last hundred and -fifteen years might not fill and overflow the Ohio branch of such -a Mississippi, but they would make a lively rivulet run until -it was dammed by its own silt. The late Benjamin Disraeli, Lord -Beaconsfield, fought a duel with Daniel O'Connell, because O'Connell -declared it to be his belief that Disraeli was a lineal descendant -of the impenitent thief on the Cross. Perhaps the libellers of Allen -are descended from the Yorkers whom he stamped so ignominiously with -the beech seal. The fierce light of publicity perhaps never beat upon -a throne more sharply than for more than a hundred years it has beat -upon Ethan Allen. His patriotism, courage, religious belief, and -general character have been travestied and caricatured until now the -real man has to be dug up from heaps of untruthful rubbish, as the -peerless Apollo Belvidere was dug in the days of Columbus from the -ruins of classic Antium. - -Discrepancies exist even in regard to his age. On the stone tablet -over his grave his age is given as fifty years. Thompson said his -age was fifty-two. At the unveiling of his statue, he was called -thirty-eight years old when Ticonderoga was taken. These three -statements are erroneous, and, strange to say, Burlington is -responsible for them all, Burlington, the Athens of Vermont, the -town wherein rest his ashes, the town wherein most of the last two -years of his life were passed, and the town that has done most to -honor his memory. - -However humiliating it may be to state pride, it is probable that the -Allens, centuries ago, were no more respectable than the ancestors -of Queen Victoria and the oldest British peers. The different ways -of spelling the name, Alleyn, Alain, Allein, and Allen, seem to -indicate a Norman origin. George Allen, professor in the University -of Pennsylvania, says that Alain had command of the rear of William -the Conqueror's army at the battle of Hastings in 1066. - -Joseph Allen, the father of Ethan, comes to the surface of history -about the year 1720, one year after the death of Addison and the -first publication of "Robinson Crusoe," in the town of Coventry, in -Eastern Connecticut, twenty miles east of Hartford. When he first -appears to us he is a minor and an orphan. His widowed mother, Mercy, -has several children, one of them of age. Their first recorded act is -emigration fifty miles westward to Litchfield, famous for its scenery -and ancient elms, located between the Naugatuck and the Shepaug -rivers, on the Green and Taconic mountain ranges; famous also as the -place where the first American ladies' seminary was located, and -most famous of all for its renowned law-school, begun over a century -ago by Judge Tapping Reeve and continued by Judge James Gould. Chief -Justice John Pierpoint and United States Senator S. S. Phelps were -among its notable pupils. The widow, Mercy Allen, died in Litchfield, -February 5, 1728. Her son Joseph bought one-third of her real estate. -Within five years he sold two tracts, of 100 acres each, and fourteen -years after his mother's death he sold the residue as wild land. On -March 11, 1737, Joseph Allen was married to Mary Baker, daughter of -John Baker, of Woodbury, sister of Remember Baker, who was father -of the Remember Baker that came to Vermont. Thus Ethan Allen and -Remember Baker were cousins. - -Ethan Allen was born January 10, 1737, and died February 21, 1789, -and consequently he has been said to have been fifty-two years, one -month and two days old. In fact, he was fifty-one years, one month -and two days old. The year 1737 terminated March 24. Had it closed -December 31, Allen would have been born in 1738. The first day of the -year was March 25 until 1752 in England and her colonies. In 1751 the -British Parliament changed New Year's Day from March 25 to January -1. The year 1751 had no January, no February, and only seven days of -March. Allen was thirteen years old in 1750, and was fourteen years -old in 1752. - -The year 1738 gave birth to three honest men--Ethan Allen, George -III., and Benjamin West. In 1738 George Washington was six years -old, John Adams three years old, John Stark ten years old, Israel -Putnam twenty years old. Seth Warner and Jefferson were born five -years later. In that year no claim had ever been made to Vermont -by New York or New Hampshire. No one had ever questioned the right -of Massachusetts to the English part of Vermont. New Hampshire was -bounded on the west by the Merrimac. Colden, the surveyor-general -of New York, in an official report bounded New York on the east by -Connecticut and Massachusetts, on the north by Lake Ontario and -Canada; Canada occupying Crown Point and Chimney Point. - -If by waving a magician's wand the English-American colonies on -the Atlantic slope, as they existed in 1738, could pass before us, -wherein would the tableau differ from that of to-day? West of the -Alleghanies there were the Indians and the French. On the north were -50,000 prosperous French, farmers chiefly along the valley of the St. -Lawrence from Montreal to Quebec. On the east, Acadie, including Nova -Scotia, New Brunswick, and a part of Maine, was Scotch. Florida was -Spanish. From Georgia to Maine were 1,500,000 English-Americans and -400,000 African-Americans. The colony of New York had a population -of 60,100. New Hampshire, consisting of a few thousand settlers, -was located north and east of the Merrimac, and had a legislature -of its own, but no governor. Massachusetts, with its charters from -James I. and Charles I., claimed the country to the Pacific Ocean, -and exercised ownership between the Merrimac and Connecticut and -west of the Connecticut, without a breath of opposition from any -mortal. Massachusetts had sold land as her own which she found to be -in Connecticut, and she paid that state for it by granting her many -thousand acres in three of the southeastern townships of Vermont. -She built and sustained a fort in Brattleboro', kept a garrison there -with a salaried chaplain, salaried resident Indian commissioner, and -she established a store supplied with provisions, groceries, and -goods suitable for trade with frontiersmen and the Indians of Canada. -Bartering was actively carried on along the Connecticut River, Black -River, Otter Creek, and Lake Champlain. In 1737 a solemn ratification -of the old treaty occurred there; speeches were made, presents given, -and the healths of George II. and Governor Belcher, of Massachusetts, -were duly drunk. There was no Anglo-Saxon settlement in Vermont -outside of Brattleboro'. In Pownal were a few families of Dutch -squatters. The Indian village of St. Francis, midway between Montreal -and Quebec, peopled partly by New England refugees from King Philip's -war of 1676, exercised supreme control over northeastern Vermont. - -In all the land were only three colleges: Harvard, one hundred and -two years old, Yale, thirty-seven, and William and Mary, forty-five. - -Ethan Allen had five brothers, Heman, Heber, Levi, Zimri, and Ira, -and two sisters, Lydia and Lucy. Of all our early heroes, few glide -before us with a statelier step or more beneficent mien than Heman -Allen, the oldest brother of Ethan. Born in Cornwall, Connecticut, -October 15, 1740, dying in Salisbury, Connecticut, May 18, 1778, his -life of thirty-seven and a half years was like that of the Chevalier -Bayard, without fear and without reproach. A man of affairs, a -merchant and a soldier, a politician and a land-owner, a diplomat and -a statesman, he was capable, intelligent, honest, earnest, and true. -But fifteen years old when his father died, he was early engaged in -trade at Salisbury. His home became the home of his widowed mother -and her large family. Salisbury was his home and probably his legal -residence, although he represented Rutland and Colchester in the -Vermont Conventions, and was sent to Congress by Dorset. - -Heber was the first town clerk of Poultney. - -Ira was able, shrewd, and gentlemanly; a land surveyor and -speculator, a lieutenant in Warner's regiment, a member of all the -conventions of 1776 and 1777, of the Councils of Safety and of -the State Council; state treasurer, surveyor-general, author of a -"History of Vermont", and of various official papers and political -pamphlets. In 1796 he bought, in France, twenty-four brass cannon -and twenty thousand muskets, ostensibly for the Vermont militia, -which were seized by the English. After a lawsuit of seven or eight -years he regained them, but the expense beggared him. He died in -Philadelphia, January 7, 1814, aged sixty-three years. - -Levi Allen joined in the expedition to capture Ticonderoga, became -Tory, and was complained of by his brother Ethan as follows: - - BENNINGTON COUNTY, _ss._: - ARLINGTON, 9 January, 1779. - - To the Hon. the Court of Confiscation, comes Col. Ethan Allen, - in the name of the freemen of the state, and complaint makes - that Levi Allen, late of Salisbury in Connecticut, is of Tory - principles and holds in fee sundry tracts and parcels of land - in this State. The said Levi, has been detected in endeavoring - to supply the enemy on Long Island; and in attempting to - circulate counterfeit continental money, and is guilty of holding - treasonable correspondence with the enemy under cover of doing - favors to me when a prisoner at New York and Long Island; and in - talking and using influence in favor of the enemy, associating - with inimical persons to this country, and with them monopolizing - the necessaries of life; in endeavoring to lessen the credit - of the continental currency, and in particular hath exerted - himself in the most fallacious manner to injure the property and - character of some of the most zealous friends to the independence - of the U. S. and of this State likewise: all which inimical - conduct is against the peace and dignity of the freemen of this - State. I therefore pray the Hon. Court to take the matter under - their consideration and make confiscation of the estate of said - Levi before mentioned, according to the laws and customs of this - State, in such case made and provided. - - ETHAN ALLEN. - -Levi died while in jail, for debt, at Burlington, Vermont, in 1801. - -Zimri lived and died in Sheffield. - -Lydia married a Mr. Finch, and lived and died in Goshen, Connecticut. - -Lucy married a Dr. Beebee, and lived and died in Sheffield. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -EARLY LIFE, HABITS OF THOUGHT, AND RELIGIOUS TENDENCIES. - - -The life of Allen may be divided into four periods: the first -thirty-one years before he came to Vermont (1738-1769), the six years -in Vermont before his captivity (1769-1775), the two years and eight -months of captivity (1775-1778), and the eleven years in Vermont -after his captivity (1778-1789). - -When he was two years old the family moved into Cornwall. There -his brothers and sisters were born, there his father died, there -Ethan lived until he was twenty-four years old. When seventeen he -was fitting for college with the Rev. Mr. Lee, of Salisbury. His -father's death put an end to his studies. This was in 1755, when the -French and Indian war was raging along Lakes George and Champlain, a -war which lasted until Allen's twenty-third year. Some of the early -settlers of Vermont, Samuel Robinson, Joseph Bowker, and others, -took part in this war. Not so Allen. There is no intimation that -he hungered for a soldier's life in his youth. His usual means of -earning a livelihood for himself and his widowed mother's family is -supposed to have been agriculture. - -William Cothrens, in his "History of Ancient Woodbury," tells us -that in January, 1762, Allen, with three others, entered into the -iron business in Salisbury, Connecticut, and built a furnace. In -June of that year he returned to Roxbury, and married Mary Brownson, -a maiden five years older than himself. The marriage fee was four -shillings, or sixty-seven cents. By this wife he had five children: -one son, who died at the age of eleven, while Ethan was a captive, -and four daughters. Two died unmarried; one married Eleazer W. Keyes, -of Burlington; the other married the Hon. Samuel Hitchcock, of -Burlington, and was the mother of General Ethan Allen Hitchcock, U. -S. A. - -Allen resided with his family first at Salisbury and afterward at -Sheffield, the southwest corner town of Massachusetts. For six miles -the boundary line of the two states is the boundary line of the two -towns. In these towns the families of Ethan Allen and his brothers -and sisters lived many years. Two years after moving to Salisbury -he bought two and a half acres, or one-sixteenth part of a tract of -land on Mine Hill, an elevation of 350 feet in Roxbury, containing, -it is said, the most remarkable deposit of spathic iron ore in the -United States. Immense sums of money were expended in vain attempts -to work it as a silver mine. Two years after Allen began his Vermont -life he still owned land in Judea Society, a part of the present town -of Washington. The details and financial results of these business -undertakings are not furnished us. They indicate enterprise, if -nothing more. Carrying on a farm, casting iron ware, and working a -mine, not military affairs, seem to have been the avenues wherein -Allen developed his executive ability during his early manhood. - -What were his educational facilities, his social privileges, and -his religious views during this formative period of his life? Ira -Allen, in 1795, writes to Dr. S. Williams, the early historian of -Vermont, that when his father, Joseph Allen, died, his brother Ethan -was preparing for college, and that the death of his father obliged -Ethan to discontinue his classical studies. Mr. Jehial Johns, of -Huntington, told the Rev. Zadock Thompson that he knew Ethan Allen in -Connecticut, and was very certain that Allen spent some time studying -with the Rev. Mr. Lee, of Salisbury, with the view of fitting himself -for college. The widow of Judge Samuel Hitchcock, of Burlington, -told Mr. Thompson that Ethan's attendance at school did not exceed -three months. Ira Allen writes General Haldimand in July, 1781, that -his brother Ethan has resigned his Brigadier-Generalship in the -Vermont militia, and "returned to his old studies, philosophy." To -what period in Ethan's life does the phrase "old studies" refer? It -could not be his life after the captivity, during his five years' -collisions with the Yorkers, but the period we are now considering. -Heman Allen's widow, when Mrs. Wadhams, told Zadock Thompson that one -summer when he was residing in her house he passed almost all the -time in writing. She did not know what was the subject of his study, -but on one occasion she called him to dinner, and he said he was very -sorry she had called him so soon, for he had "got clear up into the -upper regions." Allen himself says: - - In my youth I was much disposed to contemplation, and at my - commencement in manhood I committed to manuscript such sentiments - or arguments as appeared most consonant to reason, lest through - the debility of memory, my improvement should have been less - gradual. This method of scribbling I practised for many years, - from which I experienced great advantages in the progression - of learning and knowledge; the more so as I was deficient in - education and had to acquire the knowledge of grammar and - language, as well as the art of reasoning, principally from a - studious application to it; which after all, I am sensible, lays - me under disadvantages, particularly in matters of composition; - however, to remedy this defect I have substituted the most - unwearied pains.... Ever since I arrived at the state of manhood - and acquainted myself with the general history of mankind, I have - felt a sincere passion for liberty. The history of nations doomed - to perpetual slavery in consequence of yielding up to tyrants - their natural-born liberties, I read with a sort of philosophical - horror. - -In Allen's youth great revivals were inaugurated, organized, and -continued mainly by the preaching of Whitefield, who roused and -electrified audiences of several thousands, as men have rarely been -moved since the days of Peter the Hermit. Even Franklin, Bolingbroke, -and Chesterfield were fascinated by him. As for Allen, baptized -in his infancy, in the days when no Sabbath-school blessed the -race, when the Westminster Catechism and Watts' Hymns were in use -throughout New England (Isaac Watts died when Allen was eleven years -old), living in and near northwest Connecticut in as democratic and -religious community as the world had ever seen, reading none of -the books of the Deists, he was fond of discussion and delighted -in writing out his arguments. Having been brought up an Armenian -Christian, in contradistinction to a Calvinistic Christian, his -views in early manhood began to change. One picture of this gradual -evolution he gives us in the following description: - - The doctrine of imputation according to the Christian scheme - consists of two parts. First, of imputation of the apostasy of - Adam and Eve to their posterity, commonly called original sin; - and secondly, of the imputation of the merits or righteousness - of Christ, who in Scripture is called the second Adam to mankind - or to the elect. This is a concise definition of the doctrine, - and which will undoubtedly be admitted to be a just one by every - denomination of men who are acquainted with Christianity, whether - they adhere to it or not. - - I therefore proceed to illustrate and explain the doctrine by - transcribing a short but very pertinent conversation which in - the early days of my manhood I had with a Calvinistic divine; but - previously remark that I was educated in what are commonly called - the Armenian principles; and among other tenets to reject the - doctrine of original sin; this was the point at issue between the - clergyman and me. In my turn I opposed the doctrine of original - sin with philosophical reasonings, and as I thought had confuted - the doctrine. The Reverend gentleman heard me through patiently: - and with candor replied: - - "Your metaphysical reasonings are not to the purpose, inasmuch - as you are a Christian and hope and expect to be saved by the - imputed righteousness of Christ to you; for you may as well be - imputedly sinful as imputedly righteous. Nay," said he, "if you - hold to the doctrine of satisfaction and atonement by Christ, - by so doing you presuppose the doctrine of apostasy or original - sin to be in fact true;" for, said he, "if mankind were not in - a ruined and condemned state by nature, there could have been - no need of a Redeemer; but each individual of them would have - been accountable to his Creator and Judge, upon the basis of - his own moral agency. Further observing that upon philosophical - principles it was difficult to account for the doctrine of - original sin, or of original righteousness; yet as they were - plain, fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith we ought to - assent to the truth of them; and that from the divine authority - of revelation. Notwithstanding," said he, "if you will give me - a philosophical explanation of original imputed righteousness, - which you profess to believe and expect salvation by, then I will - return you a philosophical explanation of original sin; for it - is plain," said he, "that your objections lie with equal weight - against original imputed righteousness, as against original - imputed sin." - - Upon which I had the candor to acknowledge to the worthy - ecclesiastic, that upon the Christian plan I perceived the - argument had clearly terminated against me. For at that time - I dared not to distrust the infallibility of revelation; much - more to dispute it. However, this conversation was uppermost - in my mind for several months after; and after many painful - searches and researches after the truth, respecting the doctrine - of imputation, resolved at all events to abide the decision of - rational argument in the premises; and on a full examination of - both parts of the doctrine, rejected the whole; for on a fair - scrutiny, I found that I must concede to it entirely or not at - all; or else believe inconsistently as the clergyman had argued. - -He relates also a change from his juvenile views of biblical history: - - When I was a boy, by one means or other, I had conceived a very - bad opinion of Pharaoh; he seemed to me to be a cruel, despotic - prince; he would not give the Israelites straw, but nevertheless, - demanded of them the full tale of brick; for a time he opposed - God Almighty; but was at last luckily drowned in the Red Sea; at - which event, with other good Christians, I rejoiced, and even - exulted at the overthrow of the base and wicked tyrant. But after - a few years of maturity and examination of the history of that - monarch given by Moses, with the before recited remarks of the - apostle, I conceived a more favorable opinion of him; inasmuch as - we are told that God raised him up and hardened his heart, and - predestinated his reign, his wickedness, and his overthrow. - -In 1782 he says: - - In the circle of my acquaintance (which has not been small), I - have generally been denominated a Deist, the reality of which I - never disputed; being conscious I am no Christian, except mere - infant baptism makes me one; and as to being a Deist, I know not, - strictly speaking, whether I am one or not, for I have never read - their writings. - -We are told that Allen in his early life was very intimate with -Dr. Thomas Young, the man who supplied the state with its name, -"Vermont," in April, 1777, and who so strongly encouraged it to -assert its independence. One of the most noted characteristics of -Ethan, his fondness for the society of able men, is illustrated in -his association with Young. - -Dr. Young, who was a distinguished citizen of Philadelphia, was on -most of the Whig committees in Boston, before the Revolution, with -James Otis, Samuel Adams, Joseph Warren, and others. He and Adams -addressed the great public meeting on the day "when Boston harbor was -black with unexpected tea." He was a neighbor of Allen, living in the -Oblong, in Dutchess County, while Allen lived in Salisbury. Afterward -he lived in Albany, and died in Philadelphia in the third year of -Allen's captivity. He was influential in causing Vermont to adopt the -constitution of Pennsylvania. - -The Oblong, Salisbury and vicinity, abounded in free thinkers. Young -and Allen opposed President Edwards' famous theological tenets, the -latter spending much time in Young's house, and it was generally -understood that they were preparing for publication a book in support -of sceptical principles; the two agreeing that the one that outlived -the other should publish it. Allen, on going to Vermont, left his -manuscripts with Young, and on his release from captivity after -Young's death obtained from the latter's family, who had gone back to -Dutchess County, both his own and Young's manuscripts, and these were -the originals of his "Oracles of Reason." - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -REMOVAL TO VERMONT.--THE NEW HAMPSHIRE GRANTS. - - -Allen came to Vermont, probably, in 1769, a year memorable for the -founding of Dartmouth College and for the birth of four of earth's -renowned men: two soldiers, Wellington and Napoleon; two scholars, -Cuvier and Humboldt. - -In the early history of Vermont, one of its prominent judges -speculated extensively in Green Mountain wild lands. The aggregate -result of these speculations was disastrous. Attending a session of -the legislature, the judge was called upon by a committee for his -advice in reference to suitable penalties for some crime. He replied, -advising for the first offence a fine; for the second, imprisonment; -and if the criminal should prove such a hardened offender, such a -veteran in vice as to be guilty the third time, he recommended that -the scoundrel should be compelled to receive a deed of a mile square -of wild Vermont lands. Speculation in wild lands is a feature of -pioneer society. Vermont was once the agricultural Eldorado of New -England. Emigration first rolled northward. Since that time a certain -star, erroneously supposed to belong to Bishop Berkeley, has been -travelling westward. - -In 1749 Benning Wentworth, Governor of New Hampshire, issued a -patent of a township, six miles square, near the northwest angle of -Massachusetts and corresponding with its line northward, and in this -township of Bennington the Allens bought lands and made their home. -This grant caused a remonstrance from the governor and council of New -York. Similar remonstrances had been made in the cases of Connecticut -and Massachusetts, each of whom claimed that their territory extended -to the Connecticut River. But that question had been settled in -the former cases between New York and New England by agreeing upon -a line from the southwest corner of Connecticut northerly to Lake -Champlain as the boundary between the provinces. Wentworth urged in -justification of his course that the boundary line was well known, -and that New Hampshire had the same right as the other colonies of -New England, and he persevered in his own course. In 1754 fourteen -new townships had been granted, when the French war broke out and the -settlers were deterred from occupying their lands by the incursions -of the French and Indians on the frontier and the uncertainty of -the termination of the contest; but when Canada was reduced by the -English and peace concluded, there was a new rush for the possession -of the fertile lands by the hardy and adventurous sons of the old -New England colonies. In four years Governor Wentworth granted one -hundred and thirty-eight townships, and the territory included was -called the New Hampshire Grants. Then began in bitter earnest the -long controversy between New York and New Hampshire for the ownership -of all the territory now known as Vermont. - -In order to make clear the circumstances of the time when Ethan -Allen came to the front, it is necessary to explain something of the -origin of the strife. The New York claim was founded on a charter -given by Charles II. to his brother, the Duke of York, in 1664, for -the country lying between the Connecticut and Delaware rivers. But -that charter had long been considered as practically a nullity, for -when the Duke of York succeeded to the throne of England, it all -became public property subject to the king's divisions; and there -are strong reasons for believing that the mention of the Connecticut -was merely a formality, not intended as a definite boundary, and -that the design was to take in the whole of the New Netherlands. The -geography of the country was little known, and the wording of the -charter was ambiguous and vague. Allen at once espoused the cause of -the settlers. But for him the State of Vermont would probably have -never existed. But for Allen, Albany, not Montpelier, might have been -the capital of Vermont. Allen's most illustrious achievement for the -benefit of the nation was the capture of Ticonderoga. His great work -for Vermont was successful resistance to the Yorkers. - -Before entering upon this period of litigation, one of the stories of -Allen, illustrating his honesty, may fitly find a place. Having given -a note which he was unable to pay when it became due, he was sued. -Allen employed a lawyer to attend to his case and postpone payment. -But the lawyer could not prevent the rendering a judgment against -Allen at the first term of court, unless he filed a plea alleging -some real or fictitious ground of defence. Accordingly, quite -innocently he put in the usual plea denying that Allen signed the -note. The effect of this was to continue the case to the next term -of court, exactly what Allen wanted; but Allen was present and was -indignant that he should be made to appear to sanction a falsehood. -He rose in court and vehemently denounced his lawyer, telling him -that he did not employ him to tell a lie; he did sign that note; he -wanted to pay it; he only wanted time! - -It was in June, 1770, that Allen first became prominent in Vermont -public affairs. Then it was that the lawsuits brought by Yorkers -for Vermont lands were tried before the Supreme Court at Albany. -Robert R. Livingston was the presiding judge; Kempe and Duane, -attorneys for plaintiffs; Silvester, of Albany, and Jared Ingersoll, -of New Haven, attorneys for defendants. Ethan Allen was active in -preparing the defence. But of what avail was defence when the court -was virtually an adverse party to the suit? Not only did Duane claim -50,000 acres of Vermont lands, but, to the disgrace of English -jurisprudence, Livingston, the presiding judge, was interested -directly or indirectly in 30,000 acres. The farce was soon played -out; the court refused to hear the New Hampshire charter read; one -trial was sufficient; the plaintiffs won all the cases. Duane and -others called on Allen and reminded him that "might makes right," -advising him to go home and counsel compromise. Allen observed: "The -gods of the valleys are not the gods of the hills!" Duane asked for -an explanation, and Allen replied: "If you will come to Bennington -the meaning shall be made clear to you." - -Allen went home and no compromise was thought of. The great seal -of New Hampshire being disregarded, the "Beech Seal" was invented -as a substitute. A military organization was formed with several -companies, Seth Warner, Remember Baker, and others as captains, and -Ethan Allen as colonel. - -In July, 1771, on the farm of James Breakenridge, in Bennington, -the State of Vermont was born. Ten Eyck, the sheriff, with 300 men, -including mayor, aldermen, lawyers, and others, issued forth from -Albany, as did De Soto to capture Florida, as Don Quixote essayed -to conquer the windmills. Breakenridge's family were wisely absent. -In his house were eighteen armed men provided with a red flag to run -up the chimney as a signal for aid. The house was barricaded and -provided with loop-holes. On the woody ridge north were 100 armed -men, their heads and the muzzles of their guns barely visible amid -the foliage. To the southeast, in plain sight, was a smaller body -of men within gunshot of the house. Six or seven guarded the bridge -half a mile to the west. Mayor Cuyler and a few others were allowed -to cross the bridge and a parley ensued. The mayor returned to the -bridge, and in half an hour the sheriff was notified that possession -would be kept at all hazards. He ordered the posse to advance, and a -small portion reluctantly complied. Another parley followed, while -lawyer Yates expounded New York law and the Vermonters justified -their position. The sheriff seized an axe, and going toward the door, -threatened to break it open. In an instant an array of guns was aimed -at him; he stopped, retired to the bridge, and ordered the posse to -advance five miles into Bennington. But the Yorkers stampeded for -home, and the bubble burst. The "star that never sets" had begun to -glimmer upon the horizon. - -In the winter of 1771-72 Governor Tryon, of New York, issued -proclamations heavy with ponderous logic and shotted with offers of -money for the arrest of Allen and others. To the arguments Allen -replied through a newspaper, the Connecticut _Courant_, of Hartford. -To the premium for his arrest he returned a Roland for an Oliver in -the following placard: - - £25 Reward.--Whereas James Duane and John Kempe, of New York, - have by their menaces and threats greatly disturbed the public - peace and repose of the honest peasants of Bennington and the - settlements to the northward, which are now and ever have been - in the peace of God and the King, and are patriotic and liege - subjects of Geo. the 3d. Any person that will apprehend those - common disturbers, viz: James Duane and John Kempe, and bring - them to Landlord Fay's, at Bennington, shall have £15 reward for - James Duane and £10 reward for John Kempe, paid by - - ETHAN ALLEN. - REMEMBER BAKER. - ROBERT COCHRAN. - - Dated Poultney, - Feb. 5, 1772. - -Duane and Kempe were prominent lawyers of New York, and also -prominent as advocates of New York's claim to Vermont lands. -Duane was the son-in-law of Robert Livingston and Kempe was -attorney-general. The idea of their being kidnapped for exhibition -at a log tavern in the wilderness was slightly grotesque. But this -did not satisfy Allen. He would fain visit the enemy in one of his -strongholds. - -Albany was emphatically a Dutch city, for it was two centuries old -before it had 10,000 inhabitants. In 1772 it might have had half -that number. While the country was flooded with proclamations for -his arrest, Allen rode alone into the city. Slowly passing through -the streets to the principal hotel he dismounted, entered the -bar-room, and called for a bowl of punch. The news circulated; the -Dutch rallied; the crowd centred at the hotel; the officers of the -court, the valiant sheriff, Ten Eyck, and the attorney-general were -present. Allen raised the punch-bowl, bowed courteously to the crowd, -swallowed the beverage, returned to the street, remounted his horse, -rose in his stirrups and shouted "Hurrah for the Green Mountains!" -and then leisurely rode away unharmed and unmolested. The incident -illustrates Allen's shrewd courage, and sustains Governor Hall's -theory that the people of New York sympathized more with the Green -Mountain Boys than with their own land-gambling officers. - -At the Green Mountain tavern in Bennington was a sign-post, with a -sign twenty-five feet from the ground. Over the sign was the stuffed -skin of a catamount with large teeth grinning toward New York. A -Dutchman of Arlington who had been active against the Green Mountain -Boys was punished by being tied in an arm-chair, hoisted to this -sign, and there suspended for two hours, to the amusement of the -juvenile population and the quiet gratification of their seniors. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -ALLEN AND THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.--NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE NEW YORK -AND THE NEW HAMPSHIRE GRANTS. - - -During the six years preceding the Revolution, Allen was the most -prominent leader of the Green Mountain Boys in all matters of peace, -and also in political writing. When the Manchester Convention, -October 21, 1772, sent James Breakenridge, of Bennington, and Jehiel -Hawley, of Arlington, as delegates to England, perhaps Allen could -not be spared, for if any New York document needed answering Allen -answered it; if any handbill, proclamation or counter-statement, or -political or legal argument was to be written, Allen wrote it; if -New England was to be informed of the Yorkers' rascalities, Allen -sent the information to the Connecticut _Courant_ and Portsmouth -_Gazette_, Vermont having no newspaper. Rarely was force or threat -used or a rough joke played on a Yorker, but Allen was first in the -fray. In Bennington County Allen with others told a Yorker that they -had "that morning resolved to offer a burnt sacrifice to the gods of -the woods in burning the logs of his house." They did burn the logs -and the rafters, and told him to go and complain to his "scoundrel -governor." - -Of all the towns of Western Vermont, Clarendon had been most noted -for its Tories and its Yorkers. Settled as early as 1768, its -settlers founded their claims to land titles on grants from three -different powers: Colonel Lydius, New York, and New Hampshire. The -New York patent of Socialborough, covering Rutland and Pittsford -substantially, was dated April 3, 1771, and issued by Governor -Dunmore. The New York patent of Durham, dated January 7, 1772, issued -by Governor Tryon, covered Clarendon. Both were in direct violation -of the royal order in council, July, 1767, and therefore illegal and -void. The new county of Charlotte, created March 12, 1772, extended -from Canada into Arlington and Sunderland and west of Lake George -and Lake Champlain. Benjamin Spencer, of Durham, was a justice and -judge of the new county; Jacob Marsh, of Socialborough, a justice; -and Simeon Jenny, who lived near Chippenhook, coroner. These three -officers were zealous New York partisans. The Green Mountain Boys in -council passed resolutions to the effect that no citizen should do -any official act under New York authority; that all persons holding -Vermont lands should hold them under New Hampshire laws, and if -necessary force should be used to enforce these resolves. - -In the early part of the fall of 1773, a large force of Green -Mountain Boys, under Ethan Allen and other leaders, visited Clarendon -and requested the Yorkers to comply with these resolutions, informing -them if this were not done within a reasonable time the persons of -the Durhamites would suffer. Justice Spencer absconded. No violence -was used except on one poor innocent dog of the name of Tryon, and -Governor Tryon was so odious that the dog was cut in pieces without -benefit of clergy. This display of force and the threats that were -very freely used, it was hoped, would be enough to secure submission, -but the justices still issued writs against the New Hampshire -settlers; other New York officials acted, and all were loud in -advocating the New York title. - -A second visit to Durham was made. Saturday, November 20, at 11 P.M., -Ethan Allen, Remember Baker, and twenty to thirty others surrounded -Spencer's house, took him prisoner, and carried him two miles to -the house of one Green, where he was kept under a guard of four men -until Monday morning, and then taken "to the house of Joseph Smith, -of Durham, innkeeper." He was asked where he preferred to be tried; -he replied that he was not guilty of any crime, but if he must be -tried, he should choose his own door as the place of trial. The Green -Mountain Boys had now increased in number to about one hundred and -thirty, armed with guns, cutlasses, and other weapons. The people -of Clarendon, Rutland, and Pittsford hearing of the trial, gathered -to witness the proceedings. A rural lawsuit still has a wonderful -fascination for a rural populace. Allen addressed the crowd, telling -them that he, with Remember Baker, Seth Warner, and Robert Cochran, -had been appointed to inspect and set things in order; that "Durham -had become a hornets' nest" which must be broken up. A "judgment -seat" was erected; Allen, Warner, Baker, and Cochran took seats -thereon as judges, and Spencer was ordered to stand before this -tribunal, take off his hat, and listen to the accusations. Allen -accused him of joining with New York land jobbers against New -Hampshire grantees and issuing a warrant as a justice. Warner accused -him of accepting a New York commission as a magistrate, of acting -under it, of writing a letter hostile to New Hampshire, of selling -land bought of a New York grantee, and of trying to induce people -to submit to New York. He was found guilty, his house declared a -nuisance, and the sentence was pronounced that his house be burnt, -and that he promise not to act again as a New York justice. Spencer -declared that if his house were burned, his store of dry-goods and -all his property would be destroyed and his wife and children would -be great sufferers. Thereupon the sentence was reconsidered. Warner -suggested that his house be not destroyed, but that the roof be taken -off and put on again, provided Spencer should acknowledge that it -was put on under a New Hampshire title and should purchase a New -Hampshire title. The judges so decided. Spencer promised compliance, -and "with great shouting" the roof was taken off and replaced, and -this pioneer dry-goods store of 1773 was preserved. - -At another time twenty or thirty of Allen's party visit the house -of Coroner Jenny. The house was deserted; Jenny had fled, and they -burned the house to the ground. The other Durhamites were visited and -threatened, and they agreed to purchase New Hampshire titles. Some -of the party returning from Clarendon met Jacob Marsh in Arlington, -on his way from New York to Rutland. They seized him and put him on -trial. Warner and Baker were the accusers. Baker wished to apply -the "beech seal," but the judges declined. Warner read the sentence -that he should encourage New Hampshire settlers, discourage New York -settlers, and not act as a New York justice, "upon pain of having his -house burnt and reduced to ashes and his person punished at their -pleasure." He was then dismissed with the following certificate: - - Arlington, Nov. 25, A.D. 1773. These may sertify that Jacob Marsh - haith been examined, and had a fare trial, so that our mob shall - not meadel farther with him as long as he behaves. - - Sertified by us as his judges, to wit, - - NATHANIEL SPENCER, - SAML. TUBS, - PHILIP PERRY. - -On reaching home, Marsh found that the roof of his house had been -publicly taken off by the Green Mountain Boys. - -Spencer in his letter to Duane, April 11, 1772, wrote: "One Ethan -Allen hath brought from Connecticut twelve or fifteen of the most -blackguard fellows he can get, double-armed, in order to protect -him." This same Spencer, after acting as a Whig and one of the -Council of Safety, deserted to Burgoyne in 1777, and died a few weeks -after at Ticonderoga. - -Benjamin Hough, of Clarendon, was a troublesome New York justice. His -neighbors seized him and carried him thirty miles south in a sleigh. -After three days, January 30, 1775, he was tried in Sunderland before -Allen and others. His punishment was two hundred lashes on the naked -back while he was tied to a tree. Allen and Warner signed a written -certificate as a burlesque passport for Hough to New York, "he -behaving as becometh." - -At this time the following open letters from the Green Mountain Boys -were published: - - An epistle to the inhabitants of Clarendon: From Mr. Francis - Madison of your town, I understand Oliver Colvin of your town - has acted the infamous part by locating part of the farm of - said Madison. This sort of trick I was partly apprised of, when - I wrote the late letter to Messrs. Spencer and Marsh. I abhor - to put a staff into the hands of Colvin or any other rascal to - defraud your letter. The Hampshire title must, nay shall, be - had for such settlers as are in quest of it, at a reasonable - rate, nor shall any villain by a sudden purchase impose on the - old settlers. I advise said Colvin to be flogged for the abuse - aforesaid, unless he immediately retracts and reforms, and if - there be further difficulties among you, I advise that you employ - Capt. Warner as an arbitrator in your affairs. I am certain he - will do all parties justice. Such candor you need in your present - situation, for I assure you, it is not the design of our mobs - to betray you into the hands of villainous purchasers. None but - blockheads would purchase your farms, and they must be treated - as such. If this letter does not settle this dispute, you had - better hire Captain Warner to come simply and assist you in the - settlement of your affairs. My business is such that I cannot - attend to your matters in person, but desire you would inform me, - by writing or otherwise relative thereto. Captain Baker joins - with the foregoing, and does me the honor to subscribe his name - with me. We are, gentlemen, your friends to serve. - - ETHAN ALLEN, - REMEMBER BAKER. - - -_To Mr. Benjamin Spencer and Mr. Amos Marsh, and the people of -Clarendon in general_: - - GENTLEMEN:--On my return from what you called the mob, I was - concerned for your welfare, fearing that the force of our - arms would urge you to purchase the New Hampshire title at an - unreasonable rate, tho' at the same time I know not but after - the force is withdrawn, you will want a third army. However, on - proviso, you incline to purchase the title aforesaid, it is my - opinion, that you in justice ought to have it at a reasonable - rate, as new lands were valued at the time you purchased them. - This, with sundry other arguments in your behalf, I laid before - Captain Jehiel Hawley and other respectable gentlemen of that - place (Arlington) and by their advice and concurrence, I write - you this friendly epistle unto which they subscribe their names - with me, that we are disposed to assist you in purchasing - reasonably as aforesaid; and on condition Colonel Willard, or any - other person demand an exorbitant price for your lands we scorn - it, and will assist you in mobbing such avaricious persons, for - we mean to use force against oppression, and that only. Be it in - New York, Willard, or any person, it is injurious to the rights - of the district. - - From yours to serve. - - ETHAN ALLEN, - JEHIEL HAWLEY, - DANIEL CASTLE, - GIDEON HAWLEY, - REUBEN HAWLEY, - ABEL HAWLEY. - -The convention had decreed that no officer from New York should -attempt to take any person out of its territory, on penalty of a -severe punishment, and it forbade any surveyor to run lines through -the lands or inspect them with that purpose. This edict enlarged -the powers of the military commanders, and it was their duty to -search out such offenders. The Committees of Safety which were -chosen were entrusted with powers for regulating local affairs, -and the conventions of delegates representing the people, which -assembled from time to time, adopted measures tending to harmony and -concentration of effort. - -May 19, 1772 (the year in which occurred Poland's first -dismemberment), Governor Tryon wrote to Bennington and vicinity, -inviting the citizens to send delegates to him and explain the causes -of their opposition to New York rule. Could anything be fairer or -more politic and wise? He promised safety to any and all sent, -except four of their leaders, Allen, Warner, Cochran, and Sevil, and -suggested sending their pastor, J. Dewey, and Mr. Fay. Dewey answered -on June 5: - - We, his Majesty's leal and loyal subjects of the Province of New - York.... First, we hold fee of our land by grants of George - II., and George III., the lands reputed then in New Hampshire. - Since 1764, New York has granted the same land as though the fee - of the land and property was altered with jurisdiction, which - we suppose was not.... Suits of law for our lands rejecting our - proof of title, refusing time to get our evidence are the grounds - of our discontent.... Breaking houses for possession of them - and their owners, firing on these people and wounding innocent - women and children.... We must closely adhere to the maintaining - our property with a due submission to Your Excellency's - jurisdiction.... We pray and beseech Your Excellency would assist - to quiet us in our possessions, till his Majesty in his royal - wisdom shall be graciously pleased to settle the controversy. - -Allen, not being allowed to go to New York, wrote to Tryon in -conjunction with Warner, Baker, and Cochran, stating the case as -follows: - - No consideration whatever, shall induce us to remit in the least - of our loyalty and gratitude to our most Gracious Sovereign, and - reasonably to you; yet no tyranny shall deter us from asserting - and vindicating our rights and privileges as Englishmen. We - expect an answer to our humble petition, delivered you soon after - you became Governor, but in vain. We assent to your jurisdiction, - because it is the King's will, and always have, except where - perverse use would deprive us of our property and country. We - desire and petition to be reannexed to New Hampshire. That is not - the principal cause we object to, but we think change made by - fraud, unconstitutional exercise of it. The New York patentees - got judgments, took out writs, and actually dispossessed several - by order of law, of their houses and farms and necessaries. - These families spent their fortunes in bringing wilderness into - fruitful fields, gardens and orchards. Over fifteen hundred - families ejected, if five and one-quarter persons are allowed - to each family.... The writs of ejectment come thicker and - faster.... Nobody can be supposed under law if law does not - protect.... Since our misfortune of being annexed to New York, - law is a tool to cheat us.... Fatigued in settling a wilderness - country.... As our cause is before the King, we do not expect - you to determine it.... If we don't oppose Sheriff, he takes - our houses and farms. If we do, we are indicted rioters. If our - friends help us, they are indicted rioters. As to refugees, - self-preservation necessitated our treating some of them roughly. - Ebenezer Cowle and Jonathan Wheat, of Shaftsbury, fled to New - York, because of their own guilt, they not being hurt nor - threatened. John Munro, Esq., and ruffians, assaulting Baker at - daybreak, March 22, was a notorious riot, cutting, wounding and - maiming Mr. Baker, his wife and children. As Baker is alive he - has no cause of complaint. Later he (Munro) assaulted Warner - who, with a dull cutlass, struck him on the head to the ground. - As laws are made by our enemies, we could not bring Munro to - justice otherwise than by mimicing him, and treating him as he - did Baker, and so forth. Bliss Willoughby, feigning business, - went to Baker's house and reported to Munro, thus instigating - and planning the attack.... The alteration of jurisdiction in - 1764 could not affect private property.... The transferring - or alienation of property is a sacred prerogative of the true - owner. Kings and Governors cannot intermeddle therewith.... We - have a petition lying before his Majesty and Council for redress - of our grievances for several years past. In Moore's time, the - King forbid New York to patent any lands before granted by New - Hampshire. This a supercedeas of Common Law. King notifying New - York he takes cognizance and will settle and forbids New York to - meddle: common sense teaches a common law, judgment after that, - if it prevailed, would be subversive of royal authority. So all - officers coming to dispossess are violaters of law. Right and - wrong are externally the same. We are not opposing you and your - Government, but a party chiefly attorneys. We hear you applied to - assembly for armed force to subdue us in vain. We choose Captain - Stephen Fay and Mr. Jonas Fay, to treat with you in person. We - entreat your aid to quiet us in our farms till the King decides - it.[1] - -The embassy was successful. The council advised that all legal -processes against Vermont should cease. If Bennington was happy in -May over the invitation, Bennington was jubilant in August over the -kindly advice. The air rang with shouts; the health of governor and -council was drunk and cannon and small-arms were heard everywhere. No -part of New York colony was happier or more devotedly British. Two -years had passed since the New York Supreme Court had adjudged all -the Vermont legal documents null and void: one year had passed since -New York had sent a sheriff and posse with hundreds of citizens to -force Vermont farmers from their farms, but both of these affairs -occurred under Governor Clinton. Now perhaps, the Vermonters thought, -the new governor was going to act fairly: there would be no more -fights; no more watching and guarding against midnight attacks; no -more need of fire-arms; and wives and babes would be safe. There -would be no more kidnapping of Green Mountain Boys and hurrying them -away to Albany jail; no more foreign surveying of the lands they -tilled and loved. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE RAID UPON COLONEL REID'S SETTLERS.--ALLEN'S OUTLAWRY.--CREAN -BRUSH.--PHILIP SKENE. - - -But "best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley." While these -negotiations were pending, New Yorkers were quietly doing the -necessary work for stealing more Vermont lands. Cockburn, the Scotch -New York surveyor, was surveying land along Otter Creek. The Green -Mountain Boys heard of it, rallied, and overtook him near Vergennes, -and found Colonel Reid's Scotchmen enjoying mills and farms. For -three years these foreigners had been there. In 1769, with no legal -title, they had found, seized, and enjoyed the land, with a mill. -Vermonters had then rallied and dispossessed these dispossessors, but -a second raid of Reid's men redispossessed them. In the summer of -1772, Vermont, seizing Cockburn, turned out Reid's tenants, broke up -mill-stones and threw them over the falls, razed houses, and burned -crops. - -The Scotch story is as follows: John Cameron made affidavit that -he and some other families from Scotland arrived at New York in -the latter part of June, and a few days afterward agreed with -Lieutenant-Colonel Reid to settle as tenants on his lands on Otter -Creek, in Charlotte County. Reid went with them to Otter Creek, some -miles east from Crown Point, and was at considerable expense in -transporting them, their wives, children, and baggage. The day after -their arrival at Otter Creek they were viewing the land, where they -saw a crop of Indian corn, wheat, and garden stuff, and a stack of -hay and two New England men. Reid paid these two men $15 for their -crops, the men agreeing to leave until the king's pleasure should -be known. Reid made over these crops to his new tenants, gave them -possession of the land in presence of two justices of the peace -of Charlotte County, and bought some provisions and cows for his -tenants. On or about the 11th of August, armed men from different -parts of the country came and turned James Henderson and others -out of their homes, burnt the houses to the ground, and for two -days pastured fifty horses which they had brought with them in a -field of corn which Reid had bought. They also burnt a large stack -of hay, purchased by Reid. The next day the rioters, headed by -their captains, Allen, Baker, and Warner, came to Cameron's house, -destroyed the new grist-mill, built by Reid (Baker insisting upon -it), broke the mill-stones in pieces and threw them down a precipice -into the river. The rioters then turned out Cameron's wife and two -small children, and burnt the house, having in the two days burnt -five houses, two corn shades, and one stack of hay. When Cameron, -much incensed, asked by what authority of law they committed such -violences, Baker replied that they lived out of the bounds of law, -and holding up his gun said that was his law. He further declared -that they were resolved never to allow any persons claiming under New -York to settle in that part of the province, but if Cameron would -join them, they would give him lands for nothing. This offer Cameron -rejected. While the rioters were destroying his house and mill on -the Crown Point (west) side of Otter Creek, he heard six men ordered -to go with arms and stand as sentinels on a rising ground toward -Crown Point, to prevent any surprise from the troops in the garrison -there. Having destroyed Cameron's house and the mill, the rioters -recrossed the river. Cameron reports that he saw among the rioters -Joshua Hide, who had agreed in writing with Reid not to return, and -had received payment for his crop. Hide was very active in advising -the destruction of Cameron's house and the mill. - -Cameron stayed about three weeks at Otter Creek, after the rioters -dispersed, hoping to hear from Reid, and hoping also that New York -would protect him and his fellow-settlers, but having no house, and -being exposed to the night air, the fever and ague soon compelled -him to retire. Some of his companions went before, the rest were -to follow. What became of his wife and children he does not state. -Cameron stayed one night at the house of a Mr. Irwin, on the east -shore of the lake, five miles north of Crown Point. Irwin, an elderly -man, holding a New Hampshire title, told Cameron that Reid had a -narrow escape, for Baker with eight men had laid in wait for him a -whole day, near the mouth of Otter Creek, determined to murder him, -and the men in the boat with him, on their way back to Crown Point, -so that none might remain to tell tales. Fortunately Reid had left -the day before. Irwin disapproved of such bloody intentions, and -said if his land was confirmed to a Yorker, he would either buy the -Yorker's title or move off. - -James Henderson, settler under Colonel Reid, deposed that on -Wednesday, August 11, he and three others of Colonel Reid's settlers -were at work at their hay in the meadow, when twenty men, armed -with guns, swords, and pistols, surprised them. They inquired if -Henderson and his companions lived in the house some time before -occupied by Joshua Hide. They replied no, the men who lived in that -house were about their business. The rioters then told Henderson and -his companions that they must go along with them (as they could not -understand the women), and marched them prisoners, guarded before and -behind like criminals, to the house, where they joined the rest of -the mob, in number about one hundred or more, all armed as before, -and who, as Henderson was told by the women, had let their horses -loose in the corn and wheat that Reid had bought for his settlers. -The mob desired the things to be taken out of the house, and then -set the house on fire. Ethan Allen, the ringleader or captain, -then ordered part of his gang to go with Henderson to his own house -(formerly built and occupied by Captain Gray) in order to prepare it -for the same fate. Henderson and his wife earnestly requested the mob -to spare their house for a few days, in order to save their effects -and protect their children from the inclemency of the weather, -until they could have an opportunity of removing themselves to some -safe place; but Captain Allen, coming up from the fore-mentioned -house, told them that his business required haste; for he and his -gang were determined not to leave a house belonging to Colonel Reid -standing. Then the mob set fire to and entirely consumed Henderson's -house. Henderson took out his memorandum book and desired to know -their ringleader's or captain's name. The captain answered: "Who -gave you authority to ask for my name?" Henderson replied that as -he took him to be the ringleader of the mob, and as he had in such -a riotous and unlawful manner dispossessed him, he had a right to -ask his name, that he might represent him to Colonel Reid, who had -put him, Henderson, in peaceable possession of the premises as his -just property. Allen answered, he wished they had caught Colonel -Reid; they would have whipped him severely; that his name was Ethan -Allen, captain of that mob, and that his authority was his own arms, -pointing to his gun; that he and his companions were a lawless mob, -their law being mob law. Henderson replied that the law was made for -lawless and riotous people, and that he must know it was death by -the law to ringleaders of rioters and lawless mobs. Allen answered -that he had run these woods in the same manner these seven years -past [this would carry it back to the year 1766, when Zadoc Thompson -says Allen's family was living in Sheffield] and never was caught -yet; and he told Henderson that if any of Colonel Reid's settlers -offered hereafter to build any house and keep possession, the Green -Mountain Boys, as they call themselves, would burn their houses and -whip them into the bargain. The mob then burnt the house formerly -built and occupied by Lewis Stewart, and remained that night about -Leonard's house. The next day, about seven A.M., August 12, Henderson -went to Leonard's house. The mob were all drawn up, consulting about -destroying the mill. Those who were in favor of it were ordered -to follow Captain Allen. In the mean time Baker and his gang came -to the opposite side of the river and fired their guns. They were -brought over at once, and while they were taking some refreshment, -Allen's party marched to the mill, but did not break up any part of -it until Allen joined them. The two mobs having joined (by their own -account one hundred and fifty in number), with axes, crow-bars, and -handspikes tore the mill to pieces, broke the mill-stones and threw -them into the creek. Baker came out of the mill with the bolt-cloth -in his hands. With his sword he cut it in pieces and distributed it -among the mob to wear in their hats like cockades, as trophies of the -victory. Henderson told Baker he was about very disagreeable work. -Baker replied it was so, but he had a commission for so doing, and -showed Henderson where his thumb had been cut off, which he called -his commission. - -Angus McBean, settler under Colonel Reid, deposed that between seven -and eight A.M., Thursday, August 12 last, he met a part of the New -England mob about Leonard's house, sixty men or thereabouts, he -supposed, armed with guns, swords, and pistols. One of them asked -Angus if he were one of Colonel Reid's new settlers, and having been -told he was, asked him what he intended to do. McBean replied he -intended to build himself a house and keep possession of the land. He -was then asked if he intended to keep possession for Colonel Reid. -He replied yes, as long as he could. Soon after their chief leader, -Allen, came and asked him if he was the man that said he would keep -possession for Colonel Reid. McBean said yes. Allen then damned his -soul, but he would have him, McBean, tied to a tree and skinned -alive, if he ever attempted such a thing. Allen and several of the -mob said, if they could but catch Colonel Reid, they would cut his -head off. Joshua Hide, one of the persons of whom Colonel Reid bought -the crop, advised the mob to tear down or burn the houses of Donald -McIntosh and John Burdan, as they both had been assisting Colonel -Reid. Soon after several guns were fired on the other side of the -creek. Some of the mob said that was Captain Baker and his party -coming to see the sport. Soon Baker and his party joined the mob, and -all went to tear down the grist-mill. McBean thought Baker was one -of the first that entered the mill. - -However strong our indignation at the New York usurpations, we cannot -read of the violent ejectment of families without a feeling of -repugnance to such a method. Turn to the vivid and romantic account -of Colonel Reid's settlement in "The Tory's Daughter," and remember -that in civil strife the innocent must often suffer. The Green -Mountain Boys' immunity from the penalty of the law for their riotous -acts shows not only their adroitness, but suggests half-heartedness -in their pursuit. Laws not supported by public sentiment are rarely -enforced. - -John Munroe wrote to Duane during the Clarendon proceedings: - - The rioters have a great many friends in the county of Albany, - and particularly in the city of Albany, which encourages them - in their wickedness, at the same time hold offices under the - Government, and pretend to be much against them, but at heart I - know them to be otherwise, for the rioters have often told me, - that be it known to me, that they had more friends in Albany than - I had, which I believe to be true. - -Hugh Munro lived near the west line of Shaftsbury. He took Surveyor -Campbell to survey land in Rupert for him. He was seized by Cochran, -who said he was a son of Robin Hood, and beaten. Ira Allen says -Munro fainted from whipping by bush twigs. Munro had not a savory -reputation with the Vermonters. After Tryon's offer of a reward for -the arrest of Allen, Baker, and Cochran, he, with ten or twelve other -men, had seized Baker, who lived ten or twelve miles from him, a mile -east of Arlington. After a march of sixteen miles, they were met by -ten Bennington men, who arrested Munro and Constable Stevens, the -rest of the party fleeing. Later Warner and one man rode to Munro's -and asked for Baker's gun. Munro refused, and seizing Warner's bridle -ordered the constable to arrest Warner, who drew his cutlass and -felled Munro to the ground. For this act of Warner's, Poultney voted -him one hundred acres of land April 4, 1773. - -In 1774 Allen published a pamphlet of over two hundred pages, in -which he rehearsed many historical facts tending to show that -previous to the royal order of 1764, New York had no claim to extend -easterly to the Connecticut River. He portrayed in strong light the -oppressive conduct of New York toward the settlers. This pamphlet -also contained the answer of himself and of his associates to the Act -of Outlawry of March, 1774. Another man was busy this year drawing up -reports of the trouble in Vermont. - -Crean Brush, the first Vermont lawyer, was a colonel, a native of -Dublin. In 1762 he came to New York and became assistant secretary -of the colony; in 1771-74 he practised law in Westminster, Vt. He -claimed thousands of Vermont acres under New York titles, and became -county clerk, surrogate, and provincial member of Congress. He was -in Boston jail nineteen months for plundering Boston whigs, and -finally escaped in his wife's dress. The British commander in New -York told him his conduct merited more punishment. A Yorker, always -fighting the Green Mountain Boys; a tory, always fighting the whigs; -with fair culture and talent, he became a sot, and, at the age of -fifty-three, in 1778, he blew his brains out, in New York City. He -left a step-daughter who became the second wife of Ethan Allen. - -On February 5, 1774, Brush reported to the New York Legislature -resolutions to the effect "that riotousness exists in part of -Charlotte County and northeast Albany County, calling for redress; -that a Bennington mob has terrorized officers, rescued debtors, -assumed military command and judicial power, burned houses, beat -citizens, expelled thousands, stopped the administration of justice; -that anti-rioters are in danger in person and property and need -protection. Wherefore the Governor is petitioned to offer fifty -pounds reward for the apprehension and lodgment in Albany jail of -Ethan Allen, Seth Warner, Remember Baker, Robert Cochran, Peleg -Sunderland, Silvanus Brown, James Breakenridge, and John Smith, -either or any of them." It was ordered that Brush and Colonel Ten -Eyck report a bill for the suppression of riotous and disorderly -proceedings. Captain Delaney and Mr. Walton were appointed to present -the address and resolutions to the governor. - -A committee met March 1, 1774, at Eliakim Weller's house in -Manchester, adjourning to the third Wednesday at Captain Jehial -Hawley's in Arlington. Nathan Clark was chairman of the committee -and Jonas Clark clerk. The _New York Mercury_, No. 1,163, with -the foregoing report in it, was produced and read. Seven of the -committee were chosen to examine it and prepare a report, which was -adopted and ordered published in the public papers. They speak of -their misfortune in being annexed to New York, and hope that the -king will adopt the report of the Board of Trade, made December 3, -1772. In consequence, hundreds of settled families, many of them -comparatively wealthy, resolved to defend the outlawed men. All were -ready at a minute's warning. They resolved to act on the defensive -only, and to encourage the execution of law in civil cases and in -real criminal cases. They advised the General Assembly to wait for -the king's decision. The committee declared that they were all loyal -to their political father; but that as they bought of the first -governor appointed by the king, on the faith of the crown, they will -maintain those grants; that New York has acted contrary to the spirit -of the good laws of Great Britain. This declaration was certified by -the chairman and clerk, at Bennington, April 14, 1774. - -It was in 1774 that a new plan was formed for escaping from the -government of New York; a plan that startles us by its audacity and -its comprehensiveness. This was to establish a new royal colony -extending from the Connecticut to Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence, -from forty-five degrees of north latitude to Massachusetts and the -Mohawk River. The plan was formed by Allen and other Vermonters. -At that time Colonel Philip Skene, a retired British officer, was -living at Whitehall on a large patent of land. To him the Vermonters -communicated the project. Whitehall was to be the capital and Skene -the governor of the projected colony. Skene, at his own expense, went -to London, and was appointed governor of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, -but the course of public events prevented the completion of this -scheme. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -PREPARATIONS TO CAPTURE TICONDEROGA.--DIARY OF EDWARD -MOTT.--EXPEDITIONS PLANNED.--BENEDICT ARNOLD.--GERSHOM BEACH. - - -On March 29, 1775, John Brown, a Massachusetts lawyer, wrote from -Montreal to Boston: - - The people on the New Hampshire Grants have engaged to seize the - fort at Ticonderoga as soon as possible, should hostilities be - committed by the king's troops. - -The most minute account of the preparations to capture Ticonderoga is -furnished by the diary for April, 1775, of Edward Mott, of Preston, -Conn., a captain in Colonel S. H. Parson's regiment. He had been -at the camp of the American army beleaguering Boston; took charge -of the expedition to seize Ticonderoga; reported its success to -Governor Trumbull at Hartford; was sent by Trumbull to Congress at -Philadelphia with the news; resumed the command of his company at -Ticonderoga in May; was with the Northern army during the campaign; -was at the taking of Chambly and St. Johns; and became a major in -Colonel Gray's regiment next year. - - PRESTON, Friday, April 28, 1775. - - Set out for Hartford, where I arrived the same day. Saw - Christopher Leffingwell, who inquired of me about the situation - of the people at Boston. When I had given him an account, he - asked me how they could be relieved and where I thought we could - get artillery and stores. I told him I knew not unless we went - and took possession of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, which I - thought might be done by surprise with a small number of men. - Mr. Leffingwell left me and in a short time came to me again, - and brought with him Samuel H. Parsons and Silas Deane, Esqrs. - When he asked me if I would undertake in such an expedition as - we had talked of before, I told him I would. They told me they - wished I had been there one day sooner; that they had been on - such a plan; and that they had sent off Messrs. Noah Phelps and - Bernard Romans, whom they had supplied with £300 in cash from the - treasury, and ordered them to draw for more if they should need; - that said Phelps and Romans had gone by the way of Salisbury, - where they would make a stop. They expected a small number of men - would join them, and if I would go after them they would give - me an order or letter to them to join with them and to have my - voice with them in conducting the affair and in laying out the - money; and also that I might take five or six men with me. On - which I took with me Mr. Jeremiah Halsey, Mr. Epaphras Bull, Mr. - Wm. Nichols, Mr. Elijah Babcock, and John Bigelow joined me; - and Saturday, the 29th of April, in the afternoon, we set out - on said expedition. Mr. Babcock tired his horse. We got another - horse of Esq. Humphrey in Norfolk, and that day arrived at - Salisbury; tarried all night, and the next day, having augmented - our company to the number of sixteen in the whole, we concluded - it was not best to add any more, as we meant to keep our business - a secret and ride through the country unarmed till we came to - the New Settlements on the Grants. We arrived at Mr. Dewey's in - Sheffield, and there we sent off Mr. Jer. Halsey and Capt. John - Stevens to go to Albany, in order to discover the temper of the - people in that place, and to return and inform us as soon as - possible. - - That night (Monday the 1st of May) we arrived at Col. Easton's - in Pittsfield, where we fell in company with John Brown, Esq., - who had been at Canada and Ticonderoga about a month before; on - which we concluded to make known our business to Col. Easton and - said Brown and to take their advice on the same. I was advised by - Messrs. Deane, Leffingwell, and Parsons not to raise our men till - we came to the New Hampshire Grants, lest we should be discovered - by having too long a march through the country. But when we - advised with the said Easton and Brown they advised us that, as - there was a great scarcity of provisions in the Grants, and as - the people were generally poor, it would be difficult to get a - sufficient number of men there; therefore we had better raise a - number of men sooner. Said Easton and Brown concluded to go with - us, and Easton said he would assist me in raising some men in - his regiment. We then concluded for me to go with Col. Easton to - Jericho and Williamstown to raise men, and the rest of us to go - forward to Bennington and see if they could purchase provisions - there. - - We raised twenty-four men in Jericho and fifteen in Williamstown; - got them equipped ready to march. Then Col. Easton and I set - out for Bennington. That evening we met with an express for - our people informing us that they had seen a man directly from - Ticonderoga and he informed them that they were re-enforced at - Ticonderoga, and were repairing the garrison, and were every way - on their guard; therefore it was best for us to dismiss the men - we had raised and proceed no further, as we should not succeed. - I asked who the man was, where he belonged, and where he was - going, but could get no account; on which I ordered that the men - should not be dismissed, but that we should proceed. The next day - I arrived at Bennington. There overtook our people, all but Mr. - Noah Phelps and Mr. Heacock, who were gone forward to reconnoitre - the fort: and Mr. Halsey and Mr. Stevens had not got back from - Albany. - -The following account of expenses incurred on this expedition -is amusing, pitiful, and interesting, as evidence of the small -beginnings of the Revolution, and as compared with the machinery of -transportation and the wealth of the nation in its Civil War: - - - Account of Captain Edward Mott for his expenses going to - Ticonderoga and afterwards against the Colony of Connecticut: - - £ s. d. - April 26th.--To expenses from Preston - to Hartford 0 5 0 - - Expenses at Hartford while consulting - what plan to take, or where it - would be best to raise the men 0 15 0 - - April 30th.--To expenses of six men at - New Hartford on our way to New - Hampshire Grants to raise men - ($3) 0 18 0 - - May 1st.--To expenses at Norfolk - ($2.50) 0 15 0 - - To expenses at Shaftsbury 0 7 8 - - To expenses in Jericho while raising - men 1 0 5 - - To expenses of marching men from - Jericho to Williamstown 1 4 0 - - May 1st.--To expenses at Allentown 0 6 8 - - To expenses at Massachusetts 2 4 6 - - " " " Newport 0 16 0 - - " " " Pawlet 1 3 3 - - " " " Castleton 1 6 0 - - To cash to a teamster for carting - provisions 0 6 0 - - To cash to Captain Noah Phelps £1 - and to Elijah Babcock £6 7 0 0 - - To cash to Colonel Ethan Allen's - wife 3 0 0 - - To a horse cost me £20 in cash - ($66.66), which I wore out in - riding to raise the men and going - to Ticonderoga, so that I was - obliged to leave her and get another - horse to ride back to Hartford 20 0 0 - - To my expenses from Ticonderoga - back to Hartford after we had - taken the fort 2 0 0 - - To my time or wages while going on - said service, and going from Hartford - to Philadelphia to report to - Congress by Governor Trumbull's - orders, being between thirty and - forty days, much of the time day - and night 20 0 0 - - -The 3d of May, 1775, is an eventful day. Four scenes interest -us. At Albany there is hesitation. Halsey and Stevens have been -there to obtain permission for the Ticonderoga expedition. The -Albany committee-men are alarmed, for the proposition seems to be -hazardous. What will the New York Congress think of it? Will the next -Continental Congress, to meet seven days hence, approve of it? The -committee write to the New York Congress for instructions, suggesting -that if New York goes in for the invasion it will plunge northern New -York into all the horrors of war. - -A second scene is at Cambridge. The Committee of Safety, without -waiting for permission from New York, decided to act. They issue a -commission to Arnold without consulting the Massachusetts Congress, -and authorize him to raise four hundred men in western Massachusetts -and near colonies for the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point; -they give him money and authority to seize and send military stores -to Massachusetts. We can imagine Arnold quickly in the saddle, for -the enterprise suits his genius. - -Benedict Arnold was now thirty-five years old; educated in the -common schools, apprenticed as a druggist, fond of mischief, cruel, -irritable, reckless of his reputation, ambitious and uncontrollable. -As a boy he loved to maim young birds, placed broken glass where -school-children would cut their feet, and enticed them with presents -and then rushed out and horsewhipped them. He would cling to the arms -of a large water-wheel at the grist-mill and thus pass beneath and -above the water. When sixteen years of age he enlisted as a soldier, -was released; enlisted again, was at Ticonderoga and other frontier -forts; deserted; served out his apprenticeship, became a druggist and -general merchant in New Haven; shipped horses, cattle, and provisions -to the West Indies, commanded his own vessels, fought a duel with a -Frenchman in the West Indies, became a bankrupt, and was suspected of -dishonesty. Fertile in resource, he resumed business with energy but -with the same obliquity of moral purpose. - -With sixty volunteers, a few of them Yale students, marching from -New Haven to Cambridge, he had an interview with Colonel Samuel H. -Parsons near Hartford the 27th of April, and told him about the -cannon and ammunition at Ticonderoga and the defenceless condition -of that fort. Such was the man who endeavored to wrest the command of -the expedition from Allen. - -But the grandest scene of all on that 3d of May is the assemblage -in Bennington, perhaps in the old Catamount Tavern of Stephen Fay. -Allen, Warner, Robinson, Dr. Jonas Fay, Joseph Fay, Breakenridge are -there with fifteen Connecticut men and thirty-nine Massachusetts men. -Easton's Massachusetts men outnumber Warner's recruits, and Warner -ranks third instead of second. No one dreams of any one but Allen for -the leader. Easton is also complimented by being made chairman of the -council. Allen with his usual energy takes the initiative and leaves -the party to raise more men. He has been gone but a short time when -Benedict Arnold arrives on horseback with one attendant at the hamlet -and camp of Castleton. He sees Nott and other officers. They frankly -communicate to him all their plans, and are in turn astounded by -Arnold's claiming the right to take command of their whole force. He -shows them his commission from the Committee of Safety in Cambridge, -Mass. This paper gave authority to enlist men, but no more power -over these men than any other American volunteers. Arnold's temper -brooked no opposition. There is almost a mutiny among the men. They -would go home, abandon the whole expedition which had so enkindled -their enthusiasm, rather than be subject to Arnold. Whether this -was owing to his domineering temper as exhibited before them, to -his reputation in Connecticut as an unprincipled man, or entirely -to their regard for their own officers and aversion to others, we -can only conjecture. Tuesday morning this wrangling is resumed. -Again the soldiers threaten to club their guns and go home. When -told that they should be paid the same, although Arnold did command -them, they would "damn" their pay. But Arnold suddenly started to -leave this company and overtake Allen. The soldiers, knowing Allen's -good-nature, as suddenly leave Castleton and follow Arnold to prevent -his overpersuading Allen to yield to his arrogance. - -When this stampede occurred, Nott and Phelps with Herrick were with -the thirty men on the march to Skenesborough. They left the Remington -camp at Castleton, and had gone nearly to Hydeville. The stampede -left all the provisions at Castleton, so that Nott and Phelps were -obliged to return to Castleton, gather up the provisions, and follow -the main party to Ticonderoga. They arrived in Shoreham too late to -take part in the capture, but crossed the lake with Warner. This -incident deprives us of the benefit of Nott's journal account of the -capture itself, a loss to be deplored. Some time Tuesday, somewhere -between Castleton and the lake, Allen and Arnold met, and the scene -occurred which has been so often and so well told in romance and -history. - -Within three weeks after the world-renowned 19th of April, 1775, -Ethan stood in Castleton with an old friend by his side, Gershom -Beach, of Rutland, a whig blacksmith, intelligent, capable, and true. -Besides some sixty Massachusetts and Connecticut allies, Allen is -surrounded by from one to two hundred Green Mountain Boys. More men -were wanted, and Beach was selected from the willing and eager crowd -to go, like Roderick Dhu's messenger with the Cross of Fire, o'er -hill and dale, across brook and swamp, from Castleton to Rutland, -Pittsford, Brandon, Middlebury, and Shoreham. The distance was sixty -miles, the time allowed twenty-four hours, the rallying-point a -ravine at Hand's Point, Shoreham. Paul Revere rode on a good steed, -over good roads, on a moonlight night, in a few hours. Gershom Beach -went on foot, crossed Otter Creek twice, forded West Creek, East -Creek, Furnace Brook, Neshobe River, Leicester River, Middlebury -River, and walked through forests choked with underbrush, but at the -end of the day allotted the men were warned and were hastening to the -rendezvous. Then and not till then Beach threw himself on the ground -and gave himself up to well-earned sleep. Let us give this hero his -full meed of praise. After a few hours' rest he followed the men whom -he had aroused and joined Allen. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. - - -In the gray of the morning, Wednesday, May 10, 1775, Ethan Allen -with eighty-three Green Mountain Boys crossed the lake. He frankly -told his followers of the danger, but every gun was poised to dare -that danger. Soon three huzzas rang out on the parade-ground of the -sleeping fort. The English captain, De Laplace, not knowing that -his nation had an enemy on this continent, asked innocently by what -authority his surrender was demanded. Need I repeat the answer? No -words in the language are more familiar than Allen's reply. The -British colors were trailed before a power that had no national flag -for more than two years afterward. A few hours later, that same day, -the second session of the Continental Congress began at Philadelphia, -the members all unaware and soon in part disapproving of this exploit -of Allen's. The graphic account by the hero's own, pen is more -life-like than that of any historian: - - The first systematical and bloody attempt at Lexington to enslave - America thoroughly electrified my mind, and fully determined - me to take part with my country. And while I was wishing for - an opportunity to signalize myself in its behalf, directions - were privately sent to me from the then colony of Connecticut - to raise the Green Mountain Boys, and if possible with them to - surprise and take the fortress of Ticonderoga. This enterprise - I cheerfully undertook; and after first guarding all the passes - that led thither, to cut off all intelligence between the - garrison and the country, made a forced march from Bennington and - arrived at the lake opposite to Ticonderoga on the evening of the - ninth day of May, 1775, with two hundred and thirty valiant Green - Mountain Boys. - - It was with the utmost difficulty that I procured boats to cross - the lake. However, I landed eighty-three men near the garrison, - and sent the boats back for the rear guard, commanded by Col. - Seth Warner, but the day began to dawn and I found myself under - a necessity to attack the fort before the rear could cross the - lake, and, as it was viewed hazardous, I harangued the officers - and soldiers in the following manner: - - "Friends and fellow-soldiers, you have for a number of years past - been a scourge and terror to arbitrary power. Your valor has been - famed abroad and acknowledged, as appears by the advice and - orders to me from the General Assembly of Connecticut to surprise - and take the garrison now before us. I now propose to advance - before you, and in person conduct you through the wicket-gate; - for we must this morning either quit our pretensions to valor or - possess ourselves of this fortress in a few minutes; and inasmuch - as it is a desperate attempt which none but the bravest of men - dare undertake, I do not urge it on any contrary to his will. You - that will undertake voluntarily, poise your firelocks." - - The men being at this time drawn up in three ranks, each - poised his firelock. I ordered them to face to the right, and - at the head of the centre file marched them immediately to - the wicket-gate aforesaid, where I found a sentry posted who - instantly snapped his fusee at me. I ran immediately toward him, - and he retreated through the covered way into the parade within - the garrison, gave a halloo, and ran under a bomb-proof. My party - who followed me into the fort I formed on the parade in such a - manner as to face the two barracks, which faced each other. The - garrison being asleep, except the sentries, we gave three huzzas, - which greatly surprised them. One of the sentries made a pass at - one of my officers with a charge bayonet, and slightly wounded - him. My first thought was to kill him with my sword, but in an - instant I altered the design and fury of the blow to a slight cut - on the side of the head; upon which he dropped his gun and asked - quarter, which I readily granted him, and demanded of him the - place where the commanding officer kept. - - He showed me a pair of stairs in front of the barrack, on the - west part of the garrison, which led up to a second story in - said barrack, to which I immediately repaired, and ordered the - commander, Captain De la Place, to come forth instantly, or I - would sacrifice the whole garrison; at which the captain came - immediately to the door with his breeches in his hand, when I - ordered him to deliver me the fort instantly; he asked me by - what authority I demanded it; I answered him, In the name of the - great Jehovah and the Continental Congress. The authority of - the Congress being very little known at that time, he began to - speak again, but I interrupted him, and with my drawn sword over - his head again demanded an immediate surrender of the garrison: - with which he then complied and ordered his men to be forthwith - paraded without arms, as he had given up the garrison. - - In the mean time some of my officers had given orders, and in - consequence thereof sundry of the barrack doors were beaten - down, and about one-third of the garrison imprisoned, which - consisted of the said commander, a Lieut. Feltham, a conducter of - artillery, a gunner, two sergeants, and forty-four rank and file: - about one hundred pieces of cannon, one thirteen-inch mortar, and - a number of swords. - - This surprise was carried into execution in the gray of the - morning of the tenth day of May, 1775. The sun seemed to rise - that morning with a superior lustre: and Ticonderoga and its - dependencies smiled on its conquerors, who tossed about the - flowing bowl, and wished success to Congress, and the liberty and - freedom of America. Happy it was for me at that time, that the - then future pages of the book of fate, which afterwards unfolded - a miserable scene of two years and eight months' imprisonment, - were hid from my view. But to return to my narrative. Col. - Warner, with the rear guard, crossed the lake and joined me - early in the morning, whom I sent off without loss of time with - about one hundred men to take possession of Crown Point, which - was garrisoned with a sergeant and twelve men; which he took - possession of the same day, as also of upwards of one hundred - pieces of cannon. - -The soldierly qualities exhibited by Allen in the expedition seem to -have been, first, reticence or concealment of purpose from the enemy; -second, power of commanding enthusiastic obedience from his men; -third, adaptation of means to object; fourth, alacrity; and, fifth, -courage. Success gave a brilliant _éclat_ to this effort, which time -has only served to render more brilliant. - -The following letters written by Allen furnish us with additional -information which makes the whole affair stand out vividly for -nineteenth-century readers: - - TICONDEROGA, May 11th, 1775. - - _To the Massachusetts Congress._ - - GENTLEMEN:--I have to inform you with pleasure unfelt before, - that on break of day of the 10th of May, 1775, by the order of - the General Assembly of the Colony of Connecticut, I took the - fortress of Ticonderoga by storm. The soldiery was composed of - about one hundred Green Mountain Boys and near fifty veteran - soldiers from the Province of the Massachusetts Bay. The latter - was under the command of Col. James Easton, who behaved with - great zeal and fortitude not only in council, but in the assault. - The soldiery behaved with such resistless fury, that they so - terrified the King's Troops that they durst not fire on their - assailants, and our soldiery was agreeably disappointed. The - soldiery behaved with uncommon rancour when they leaped into - the Fort: and it must be confessed that the Colonel has greatly - contributed to the taking of that Fortress, as well as John - Brown, Esq. Attorney at Law, who was also an able counsellor, and - was personally in the attack. I expect the Colonies will maintain - this Fort. As to the cannon and warlike stores, I hope they may - serve the cause of liberty instead of tyranny, and I humbly - implore your assistance in immediately assisting the Government - of Connecticut in establishing a garrison in the reduced - premises. Col. Easton will inform you at large. - - From, gentlemen, your most obedient servant, - - ETHAN ALLEN. - - - TICONDEROGA, May 12th, 1775. - - _To the Honorable Congress of the Province of the - Massachusetts Bay or Council of War._ - - HONORABLE SIRS:--I make you a present of a major, a captain, - and two lieutenants in the regular establishment for George the - Third. I hope they may serve as ransomes for some of our friends - at Boston, and particularly for Captain Brown of Rhode Island. - A party of men under the command of Capt. Herrick has took - possession of Skenesborough, imprisoned Major Skene, and seized - a schooner of his. I expect in ten days time to have it rigged, - manned, and armed with six or eight pieces of cannon, which, with - the boats in our possession, I purpose to make an attack on the - armed sloop of George the Third which is now cruising on Lake - Champlain, and is about twice as big as the schooner. I hope in - a short time to be authorized to acquaint your Honor that Lake - Champlain and the fortifications thereon are subjected to the - Colonies. The enterprise has been approbated by the officers and - soldiery of the Green Mountain Boys, nor do I hesitate as to - the success. I expect lives must be lost in the attack, as the - commander of George's sloop is a man of courage, etc. I conclude - Capt. Warner is by this time in possession of Crown Point, the - ordnance, stores, etc. I conclude Governor Carleton will exert - himself to oppose us, and command the Lake, etc. Messrs. Hickok, - Halsey and Nichols have the charge of conducting the officers to - Hartford. These gentlemen have been very assiduous and active - in the late expedition. I depend upon your Honor's aid and - assistance in a situation so contiguous to Canada. I subscribe - myself your Honor's ever faithful, most obedient and humble - servant, - - ETHAN ALLEN, - _At present Commander of Ticonderoga_. - - To the Honorable Jonathan Trumbull, Esq., Capt. General and - Governor of the Colony of Connecticut. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -ALLEN'S LETTERS TO THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, TO THE NEW YORK -PROVINCIAL CONGRESS, AND TO THE MASSACHUSETTS CONGRESS. - - -The Continental Congress, affected by sinister influences, favored -the removal of the stores and cannon of Ticonderoga to the south end -of Lake George. Allen wrote to Congress a vigorous remonstrance. -Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut protested, and the -project was abandoned. On May 29th, 1775, from Crown Point, Allen -addressed the Continental Congress as follows: - - An abstract of the action of Congress has just come to hand: and - though it approves of the taking the fortress on Lake Champlain - and the artillery, etc., I am, nevertheless, much surprised that - your Honors should recommend it to us to remove the artillery - to the south end of Lake George, and there to make a stand; the - consequences of which must ruin the frontier settlements, which - are extended at least one hundred miles to the northward from - that place. Probably your Honors were not informed of those - settlements, which consist of several thousand families who are - seated on that tract of country called the New Hampshire Grants. - Those inhabitants, by making those valuable acquisitions for the - Colonies, have incensed Governor Carleton and all the ministerial - party in Canada against them; and provided they should, after - all their good service in behalf of their country, be neglected - and left exposed, they will be of all men the most consummately - miserable.... - - If the King's troops be again in possession of Ticonderoga and - Crown Point and command the Lake, the Indians and Canadians will - be much more inclined to join with them and make incursions into - the heart of our country. But the Colonies are now in possession - and actual command of the Lake, having taken the armed sloop from - George the Third, which was cruising in the Lake, also seized a - schooner belonging to Major Skene at South Bay, and have armed - and manned them both.... The Canadians (all except the noblesse) - and also the Indians appear at present to be very friendly to us; - and it is my humble opinion that the more vigorous the Colonies - push the war against the King's troops in Canada, the more - friends we shall find in that country. Provided I had but 500 men - with me at St. John's (18th May) when we took the King's sloop, I - would have advanced to Montreal. Nothing strengthens our friends - in Canada equal to our prosperity in taking the sovereignty of - Lake Champlain, and should the Colonies forthwith send an army - of two or three thousand men and attack Montreal, we should have - little to fear from the Canadians or Indians, and should easily - make a conquest of that place, and set up the standard of liberty - in the extensive province of Quebec, whose limit was enlarged - purely to subvert the liberties of America. Striking such a - blow would intimidate the Tory party in Canada, the same as the - commencement of the war at Boston intimidated the Tories in the - Colonies. They are a set of gentlemen that will not be converted - by reason, but are easily wrought upon by fear. - - By a council of war held on board the sloop the 27th instant, - it was agreed to advance to the Point Aufere with the sloop and - schooner, and a number of armed boats well manned, and there make - a stand, act on the defensive, and by all means command the Lake - and defend the frontiers. Point Aufere is about six miles this - side of forty-five degrees north latitude, but if the wisdom of - the Continental Congress should view the proposed invasion of the - King's troops in Canada as premature or impolitic, nevertheless, - I humbly conceive, when your Honors come to the knowledge - of the before-mentioned facts, you will at least establish - some advantageous situation toward the northerly part of Lake - Champlain, as a frontier, instead of the south promontory of - Lake George. Commanding the northerly part of the Lake, puts it - in our power to work our policy with the Canadians and Indians. - We have made considerable proficiency this way already. Sundry - tribes have been to visit us, and have returned to their tribes - to use their influence in our favor. We have just sent Capt. - Abraham Ninham, a Stockbridge Indian, as our embassador of peace - to the several tribes of Indians in Canada. He was accompanied - by Mr. Winthrop Hoit, who has been a prisoner with the Indians - and understands their tongue. I do not imagine, provided we - command Lake Champlain, there will be any need of a war with the - Canadians or Indians. - -On June 2, 1775, Allen addressed the New York Provincial Congress: - - The pork forwarded to subsist the army, by your Honors' - direction, evinces your approbation of the procedure; and as it - was a private expedition, and common fame reports that there are - a number of overgrown Tories in the province, your Honors will - the readier excuse me in not first taking your advice in the - matter, but the enterprises might have been prevented by their - treachery. It is here reported that some of them have been lately - savingly converted, and that others have lost their influence. If - in those achievements there be anything honorary, the subjects - of your government, viz., the New Hampshire settlers, are justly - entitled to a large share, as they had a great majority of - numbers of the soldiery as well as the command in making those - acquisitions, and as your Honors justify and approve the same. - - I desire and expect your Honors have, or soon will lay before - the Grand Continental Congress, the great disadvantage it must - inevitably be to the Colonies to evacuate Lake Champlain, - and give up to the enemies of our country those invaluable - acquisitions, the key of either Canada or our country, according - as which party holds the same in possession and makes a proper - improvement of it. The key is ours as yet, and provided the - Colonies would suddenly push an army of two or three thousand men - into Canada, they might make a conquest of all that would oppose - them in the extensive province of Quebec, except a reinforcement - from England should prevent it. Such a diversion would weaken - General Gage or insure us of Canada. - - I wish to God America would at this critical juncture exert - herself agreeable to the indignity offered her by a tyrannical - ministry. She might rise on eagle's wings, and mount up to glory, - freedom, and immortal honor if she did but know and exert her - strength. Fame is now hovering over her head. A vast continent - must now sink to slavery, poverty, horror, and bondage, or rise - to unconquerable freedom, immense wealth, inexpressible felicity, - and immortal fame. - - I will lay my life on it, with fifteen hundred men and a proper - train of artillery I will take Montreal. Provided I could be thus - furnished and if an army could command the field, it would be - no insuperable difficulty to take Quebec. This object should be - pursued, though it should take ten thousand men to accomplish - the end proposed; for England cannot spare but a certain number - of her troops, anyway, she has but a small number that are - disciplined [this was months before the Hessians and other - mercenaries were hired], and it is as long as it is broad the - more that are sent to Quebec, the less they can send to Boston, - or any other part of the continent. - - Our friends in Canada can never help us until we first help them, - except in a passive or inactive manner. There are now about - seven hundred regular troops in Canada. I have lately had sundry - conferences with the Indians; they are very friendly. Capt. - Abraham Ninham, a Stockbridge Indian, and Mr. Winthrop Hoit, who - has sundry years lived with the Caughnawgoes in the capacity of a - prisoner and was made an adopted son to a motherly squaw of that - tribe, have both been gone ten days to treat with the Indians - as our embassadors of peace and friendship. I expect in a few - weeks to hear from them. By them I sent a friendly letter to the - Indians which Mr. Hoit can explain to them in Indian. The thing - that so unites the Indians to us is our taking the sovereignty - of Lake Champlain. They have wit enough to make a good bargain, - and stand by the strongest side. Much the same may be said of the - Canadians. - - It may be thought that to push an army into Canada would be too - premature and imprudent. If so, I propose to make a stand at the - Isle-aux-Noix which the French fortified by intrenchment the last - war, and greatly fatigued our large army to take it. It is about - fifteen miles this side St. John's. Our only having it in our - power thus to make incursions into Canada, might probably be the - very reason why it would be unnecessary to do so, even if the - Canadians should prove more refractory than I think for. - - Lastly, with submission I would propose to your Honors to raise - a small regiment of Rangers, which I could easily do, and that - mostly in the counties of Albany and Charlotte, provided your - Honors should think it expedient to grant commissions and thus - regulate and put the same under pay. Probably your Honors may - think this an impertinent proposal: it is truly the first favor - I ever asked of the Government, and if it be granted, I shall be - zealously ambitious to conduct for the best good of my country - and the honor of the Government. - -On June 9th Allen addressed the Massachusetts Congress: - - These armed vessels are at present abundantly sufficient to - command the Lake. The making these acquisitions has greatly - attached the Canadians, and more especially the Indians, to - our interest. They have no personal prejudice or controversy - with the United Colonies, but act upon political principles, - and consequently are inclined to fall in with the strongest - side. At present ours has the appearance of it; as there are at - present but seven hundred regular troops in all the different - parts of Canada. Add to this the consideration of the imperious - and haughty conduct of the troops, which has much alienated - the affections of both the Canadians and Indians from them. - Probably there may soon be more troops from England sent there, - but at present you may rely on it that Canada is in a weak and - helpless condition. Two or three thousand men, conducted by - intrepid commanders, would at this juncture make a conquest of - the ministerial party in Canada with such additional numbers - as may be supposed to vie with the reinforcements that may be - sent from England. Such a plan would make a diversion in favor - of the Massachusetts Bay, who have been too much burdened with - the calamity that should be more general, as all partake of the - salutary effects of their valor and merit in the defence of - the liberties of America. I hope, gentlemen, you will use your - influence in forwarding men, provisions, and every article for - the army that may be thought necessary. Blankets, provisions, and - powder are scarce. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -ALLEN'S LETTERS TO THE MONTREAL MERCHANTS, TO THE INDIANS IN CANADA, -AND TO THE CANADIANS.--JOHN BROWN. - - -The letters to the Indians and Canadians to which Allen has referred -show still more clearly the vigorous policy and the adroitness which -Allen displayed in the preparations for the invasion of Canada. He -wrote to the Montreal merchants: - - ST. JOHN'S, May 18th. - - _To Mr. James Morrison and the Merchants that are - friendly to the Cause of Liberty in Montreal._ - - GENTLEMEN:--I have the pleasure to acquaint you that Lakes George - and Champlain, with the fortresses, artillery, etc., particularly - the armed sloop of George the Third, with all water carriages of - these lakes, are now in possession of the Colonies. I expect the - English merchants, as well as all virtuous disposed gentlemen, - will be in the interest of the Colonies. The advanced guard of - the army is now at St. John's, and desire immediately to have - a personal intercourse with you. Your immediate assistance as - to provisions, ammunition, and spirituous liquors is wanted and - forthwith expected, not as a donation, for I am empowered by the - Colonies to purchase the same; and I desire you would forthwith - and without further notice prepare for the use of the army those - articles to the amount of five hundred pounds, and deliver - the same to me at St. John's, or at least a part of it almost - instantaneously, as the soldiers press on faster than provisions. - - I need not inform you that my directions from the Colonies are, - not to contend with or any way injure or molest the Canadians or - Indians; but, on the other hand, treat them with the greatest - friendship and kindness. You will be pleased to communicate the - same to them, and some of you immediately visit me at this place, - while others are active in delivering the provisions. - -On May 24, 1775, Allen addressed a letter to the Indians of Canada: - - HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, CROWN POINT. - - By advice of council of the officers, I recommend our trusty - and well-beloved friend and brother, Capt. Abraham Ninham of - Stockbridge, as our embassador of peace to our good brother - Indians of the four tribes, viz., the Hocnaurigoes, the - Surgaches, the Canesadaugaus and the Saint Fransawas. - - Loving brothers and friends, I have to inform you that George the - Third, King of England, has made war with the English Colonies - in America, who have ever until now been his good subjects, and - sent his army and killed some of your good friends and brothers - at Boston, in the Province of the Massachusetts Bay. Then your - good brothers in that Province, and in all the Colonies of - English America, made war with King George and have begun to kill - the men of his army, and have taken Ticonderoga and Crown Point - from him, and all the artillery, and also a great sloop which was - at St. Johns, and all the boats in the lake, and have raised and - are raising two great armies; one is destined for Boston, and - the other for the fortresses and department of Lake Champlain, - to fight the King's troops that oppose the Colonies from Canada; - and as King George's soldiers killed our brothers and friends in - a time of peace, I hope, as Indians are good and honest men, you - will not fight for King George against your friends in America, - as they have done you no wrong, and desire to live with you as - brothers. You know it is good for my warriors and Indians too, to - kill the Regulars, because they first began to kill our brothers - in this country without cause. - - I was always a friend to Indians and have hunted with them many - times, and know how to shoot and ambush like Indians, and am a - great hunter. I want to have your warriors come and see me, and - help me fight the King's Regular troops. You know they stand - all along close together rank and file, and my men fight so - as Indians do, and I want your warriors to join with me and - my warriors like brothers and ambush the Regulars: if you will - I will give you money, blankets, tomahawks, knives, paint, and - anything there is in the army, just like brothers; and I will go - with you into the woods to scout, and my men and your men will - sleep together and eat and drink together, and fight Regulars - because they first killed our brothers and will fight against us; - therefore I want our brother Indians to help us fight, for I know - Indians are good warriors and can fight well in the bush. - - Ye know my warriors must fight, but if you, our brother Indians, - do not fight on either side, we will still be friends and - brothers; and you may come and hunt in our woods, and come with - your canoes in the lake, and let us have venison at our forts on - the lake, and have rum, bread, and what you want, and be like - brothers. I have sent our friend Winthrop Hoit to treat with you - on our behalf in friendship. You know him, for he has lived with - you, and is your adopted son, and is a good man; Captain Ninham - of Stockbridge and he will tell you about the whole matter more - than I can write. I hope your warriors will come and see me. So I - bid all my brother Indians farewell. - - ETHAN ALLEN, - _Colonel of the Green Mountain Boys_. - -Two days after the date of this letter Allen sent a copy of it to the -Assembly of Connecticut, saying: "I thought it advisable that the -Honorable Assembly should be informed of all our politicks." - -Allen shows great shrewdness in adapting his letters to what he -considers the aboriginal mind. Addressing the Indians constantly as -brothers he appeals to their love of bush-fighting, and as regards -the question of barter, to their love of rum. By his reiteration he -recognizes the childish immaturity of the Indian. Far differently he -addresses the Canadians, to whose reason he appeals and whose sense -of justice he compliments: - - TICONDEROGA, June 4. - - _Countrymen and Friends, the French people of Canada, - greeting_: - - FRIENDS AND FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN:--You are undoubtedly more or less - acquainted with the unnatural and unhappy controversy subsisting - between Great Britain and her Colonies, the particulars of - which in this letter we do not expatiate upon, but refer your - considerations of the justice and equitableness thereof on the - part of the Colonies, to the former knowledge that you have of - this matter. We need only observe that the inhabitants of the - Colonies view the controversy on their part to be justifiable in - the sight of God, and all unprejudiced and honest men that have - or may have opportunity and ability to examine into the merits of - it. Upon this principle those inhabitants determine to vindicate - their cause, and maintain their natural and constitutional rights - and liberties at the expense of their lives and fortunes, but - have not the least disposition to injure, molest, or in any way - deprive our fellow-subjects, the Canadians, of their liberty or - property. Nor have they any design to urge war against them; and - from all intimations that the inhabitants of the said Colonies - have received from the Canadians, it has appeared that they were - alike disposed for friendship and neutrality, and not at all - disposed to take part with the King's troops in the present civil - war against the Colonies. - - We were, nevertheless, surprised to hear that a number of about - thirty Canadians attacked our reconnoitring party consisting of - four men, fired on them, and pursued them, and obliged them to - return the fire. This is the account of the party that has since - arrived at headquarters. We desire to know of any gentlemen - Canadians the facts of the case, as one story is good until - another is told. Our general order to the soldiery was, that they - should not, on pain of death, molest or kill any of your people. - But if it shall appear, upon examination, that our reconnoitring - party commenced hostilities against your people, they shall - suffer agreeable to the sentence of a court-martial; for our - special orders from the Colonies are to befriend and protect - you if need be; so that if you desire their friendship you - are invited to embrace it, for nothing can be more undesirable - to your friends in the Colonies, than a war with their - fellow-subjects the Canadians, or with the Indians. - - Hostilities have already begun; to fight with the King's troops - has become a necessary and incumbent duty; the Colonies cannot - avoid it. But pray, is it necessary that the Canadians and the - inhabitants of the English Colonies should butcher one another? - God forbid! There is no controversy subsisting between you and - them. Pray let old England and the Colonies fight it out, and - you, Canadians, stand by and see what an arm of flesh can do. - We conclude, Saint Luke, Captain McCoy, and other evil-minded - persons whose interest and inclination is that the Canadians and - the people of these Colonies should cut one another's throats, - have inveigled some of the baser sort of your people to attack - our said reconnoitring party. - -Allen signed this letter as "At present the Principal Commander of -the Army." - -A copy of it was sent to Mr. Walker at Montreal by Mr. Jeffere. -Another copy was sent to the New York Provincial Congress. - -John Brown, a young lawyer of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, was the -cause of Ethan Allen's long, terrible captivity. That alone justifies -our curiosity to know all about him. In March, before the war, he -made an eventful trip to Montreal, going along our borders, crossing -the lakes, visiting Bennington, engaging two pilots, contracting -with the foremost men there, spending days investigating the status -of affairs in Canada as to the coming struggle. Reporting to his -employers, Samuel Adams and Dr. Joseph Warren, he says that after -stopping about a fortnight at Albany he was fourteen days journeying -to St. John's, undergoing inconceivable hardships; the lake very -high, the country for twenty miles each side under water; the ice -breaking loose for miles; two days frozen in to an island; "we were -glad to foot it on land;" "there is no prospect of Canada sending -delegates to the Continental Congress." He speaks of his pilot, Peleg -Sunderland, as "an old Indian hunter acquainted with the St. Francis -Indians and their language." The other pilot was a captive many years -ago among the Caughnawaga Indians. This last was Winthrop Hoit, of -Bennington. These two men were famous for their familiarity with -Indian ways and speech, as well as for general prowess, and their -exploits in "beech-sealing" the Yorkers. Several days Sunderland and -Hoit were among the Caughnawagas, studying their manifestations -of feeling toward the colonists. Brown gave letters to Thomas -Walker and Blake, and pamphlets to four curés in La Prairie. He was -kindly received by the local committee, who told him about Canadian -politics, that Governor Carleton was no great politician, a man of -sour, morose temper, and so forth. Brown wrote Adams and Warren he -should not go to Quebec, "as a number of their committee are here," -but "I shall tarry here some time." "I have established a channel of -correspondence through the New Hampshire Grants which may be depended -on." "One thing I must mention, to be kept as a profound secret. -The fort at Ticonderoga must be seized as soon as possible should -hostilities be committed by the King's troops. _The people on New -Hampshire Grants have engaged to do this business._" This letter was -dated three weeks before the Lexington and Concord fights electrified -the continent. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -WARNER ELECTED COLONEL OF THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.--ALLEN'S LETTER -TO GOVERNOR TRUMBULL.--CORRESPONDENCE IN REGARD TO THE INVASION OF -CANADA.--ATTACK ON MONTREAL.--DEFEAT AND CAPTURE.--WARNER'S REPORT. - - -On July 27th committees of towns met at Dorset to choose a -lieutenant-colonel of the regiment, and thus of those Green Mountain -Boys for whose organization Allen had been so active and efficient -with both the Continental and New York Congresses. Seth Warner -received forty-one of the forty-six votes cast. Deep was Allen's -chagrin and mortification, as appears in the following letter to -Governor Trumbull: - - TICONDEROGA, August 3, 1775. - - HONORED SIR:--General Schuyler exerts his utmost in building - boats and making preparations for the army to advance, as I - suppose, to St. John's, etc. We have an insufficient store of - provisions for such an undertaking, though the projection is - now universally approved. Provisions are hurrying forward, but - not so fast as I could hope for. General Wooster's corps has - not arrived. I fear there is some treachery among the New York - Tory party relative to forwarding the expedition, though I am - confident that the General is faithful. No troops from New York, - except some officers, have arrived, though it is given out that - they will soon be here. The General tells me he does not want - any more troops till more provisions come to hand, which he is - hurrying; and ordered the troops under General Wooster, part to - be billeted in the mean while at Albany and part to mend the road - from there to Lake George. - - It is indeed an arduous work to furnish an army to prosecute an - enterprise. In the interim, I am apprehensive, the enemy are - forming one against us; witness the sailing of the transports - and two men of war from Boston, as it is supposed for Quebeck. - Probably, it appears that the King's Troops are discouraged - of making incursions into the Province of the Massachusetts - Bay. Likely they will send part of their force to overawe the - Canadians, and inveigle the Indians into their interest. I - fear the Colonies have been too slow in their resolutions and - preparations relative to this department; but hope they may still - succeed. - - Notwithstanding my zeal and success in my country's cause, the - old farmers on the New Hampshire Grants (who do not incline - to go to war) have met in a committee meeting, and in their - nomination of officers for the regiment of Green Mountain Boys - (who are quickly to be raised) have wholly omitted me; but as - the commissions will come from the Continental Congress, I hope - they will remember me, as I desire to remain in the service, and - remain your Honor's most obedient and humble servant, - - ETHAN ALLEN. - - To the Hon. Jona. Trumbull, Governor of the Colony of Connecticut. - - N. B.--General Schuyler will transmit to your Honors a copy of - the affidavits of two intelligent friends, who have just arrived - from Canada. I apprehend that what they have delivered is truth. - I find myself in the favor of the officers of the Army and the - young Green Mountain Boys. How the old men came to reject me I - cannot conceive, inasmuch as I saved them from the encroachments - of New York. - - E. A. - -This Jonathan Trumbull, be it remembered, was the original "Brother -Jonathan." - -Allen's first connection with the campaign in Canada is explained in -his own narrative: - - Early in the fall of the year, the little army under the command - of the Generals Schuyler and Montgomery were ordered to advance - into Canada. I was at Ticonderoga when this order arrived; and - the General, with most of the field officers, requested me to - attend them in the expedition; and though at that time I had no - commission from Congress, yet they engaged me, that I should be - considered as an officer, the same as though I had a commission; - and should, as occasion might require, command certain - detachments of the army. This I considered as an honorable offer, - and did not hesitate to comply with it. - -September 8, 1775, from St. Therese, James Livingston wrote to -General Schuyler: - - Your manifestos came to hand, and despatched them off to the - different Parishes with all possible care and expedition. The - Canadians are all friends, and a spirit of freedom seems to reign - amongst them. Colonel Allen, Major Brown and myself set off this - morning with a party of Canadians with intention to go to your - army; but hearing of a party of Indians waiting for us the same - side of the river, we thought it most prudent to retire in order, - if possible, to raise a more considerable party of men. We shall - drop down the River Chambly, as far as my house, where a number - of Canadians are waiting for us. - -September 10, 1775, at Isle-aux-Noix, General Schuyler in his orders -to Colonel Ritzemd, who was going into Canada with five hundred men, -says: - - Colonel Allen and Major Brown have orders to request that - provisions may be brought to you, which must be punctually paid - for, for which purpose I have furnished you with the sum of £318 - 1s. 10d. in gold. - -September 15, 1775, at Isle-aux-Noix, General Schuyler received from -James Livingston a report in which he says: - - Yesterday morning, I sent a party each side of the river, Colonel - Allen at their head, to take the vessels at Sorel, by surprise - if possible. Numbers of people flock to them, and make no doubt - they will carry their point. I have cut off the communication - from Montreal to Chambly. We have nothing to fear here at present - but a few seigneurs in the country endeavoring to raise forces. I - hope Colonel Allen's presence will put a stop to it. - -September 8, 1775, at Isle-aux-Noix, Schuyler writes Hancock: - - I hope to hear in a day or two from Colonel Allen and Major - Brown, who went to deliver my declaration. - -This refers to Schuyler's address to the inhabitants of Canada, dated -Isle-aux-Noix, September 5, 1775. - -From Isle-aux-Noix, September 14, 1775, Ethan Allen reports to -General Schuyler: - - Set out from Isle-aux-Noix on the 8th instant; arrived at - Chambly; found the Canadians in that vicinity friendly. They - guarded me under arms night and day, escorted me through the - woods as I desired, and showed me every courtesy I could wish - for. The news of my being in this place excited many captains - of the Militia and respectable gentlemen of the Canadians to - visit and converse with me, as I gave out I was sent by General - Schuyler to manifest his friendly intentions toward them, and - delivered the General's written manifesto to them to the same - purpose. I likewise sent a messenger to the chiefs of the - Caughnawaga Indians, demanding the cause why sundry of the - Indians had taken up arms against the United Colonies; they had - sent two of their chiefs to me, who plead that it was contrary - to the will and orders of their chiefs. The King's troops gave - them rum and inveigled them to fight against General Schuyler; - that they had sent their runners and ordered them to depart from - St. John's, averring their friendship to the Colonies. Meanwhile - the Sachems held a General Council, sent two of their Captains - and some beads and a wampum belt as a lasting testimony of their - friendship, and that they would not take up arms on either side. - These tokens of friendship were delivered to me, agreeable to - their ceremony, in a solemn manner, in the presence of a large - auditory of Canadians, who approved of the league and manifested - friendship to the Colonies, and testified their good-will on - account of the advance of the army into Canada. Their fears (as - they said) were, that our army was too weak to protect them - against the severity of the English Government, as a defeat - on our part would expose our friends in Canada to it. In this - dilemma our friends expressed anxiety of mind. It furthermore - appeared to me that many of the Canadians were watching the - scale of power, whose attraction attracted them. In fine, our - friends in Canada earnestly urged that General Schuyler should - immediately environ St. John's, and that they would assist in - cutting off the communication between St. John's and Chambly, and - between these forts and Montreal. They furthermore assured me - that they would help our army to provisions, etc., and that if - our army did not make a conquest of the King's garrisons, they - would be exposed to the resentment of the English Government, - which they dreaded, and consequently the attempt of the army into - Canada would be to them the greatest evil. They further told me - that some of the inhabitants, that were in their hearts friendly - to us, would, to extricate themselves, take up arms in favor of - the Crown; and therefore, that it was of the last importance to - them, as well as to us, that the army immediately attack St. - John's; which would cause them to take up arms in our favor. - Governor Carleton threatens the Canadians with fire and sword, - except they assist him against the Colonies, and the seigneurs - urge them to it. They have withstood Carleton and them, and - keep under arms throughout most of their Parishes, and are now - anxiously watching the scale of power. This is the situation of - affairs in Canada, according to my most painful discovery. Given - under my hand, upon honor, this 14th day of September, 1775. - - ETHAN ALLEN. - - To his Excellency General Schuyler. - -With one more letter from Allen (to General Montgomery) we will close -his correspondence on the invasion of Canada, which he so strongly -urged, so shrewdly planned, and yet which failed from lack of the -co-operation of others: - - ST. TOURS, September 20, 1775. - - EXCELLENT SIR:--I am now in the Parish of St. Tours, four leagues - to the south; have two hundred and fifty Canadians under arms; - as I march they gather fast. These are the objects of taking the - vessels in Sorel and General Carleton. These objects I pass by to - assist the army besieging St. John's. If this place be taken the - country is ours; if we miscarry in this, all other achievements - will profit but little. I am fearful our army may be too sickly, - and that the siege may be hard; therefore choose to assist in - conquering St. John's, which, of consequence, conquers the whole. - You may rely on it that I shall join you in about three days, - with three hundred or more Canadian volunteers. I could raise one - or two thousand in a week's time, but will first visit the army - with a less number, and if necessary will go again recruiting. - Those that used to be enemies to our cause come cap in hand to - me, and I swear by the Lord I can raise three times the number - of our army in Canada, provided you continue the siege; all - depends on that. It is the advice of the officers with me, that - I speedily repair to the army. God grant you wisdom, fortitude - and every accomplishment of a victorious general; the eyes of all - America, nay, of Europe, are or will be on the economy of this - army, and the consequences attending it. I am your most obedient - humble servant, - - ETHAN ALLEN. - - P.S.--I have purchased six hogsheads of rum, and sent a - sergeant with a small party to deliver it at headquarters. Mr. - Livingston, and others under him, will provide what fresh beef - you need; as to bread and flour, I am forwarding what I can. - You may rely on my utmost attention to this object, as well as - raising auxiliaries. I know the ground is swampy and bad for - raising batteries, but pray let no object of obstructions be - insurmountable. The glory of a victory, which will be attended - with such important consequences, will crown all our fatigue, - risks, and labors; to fail of victory will be an eternal - disgrace; but to obtain it will elevate us on the wings of fame. - - Yours, etc., - - ETHAN ALLEN. - -On September 17th, three and a half months after Allen urged the -invasion of Canada, Montgomery began the siege of St. John's. Two or -three days later Warner arrived with his regiment of Green Mountain -Boys. Arnold, not behind in energy and daring, captured a British -sloop. - -On September 24th Allen, with about eighty men, chiefly Canadians, -met Major John Brown, with about two hundred Americans and Canadians, -and Brown proposed to attack Montreal. It was agreed that Brown -should cross the St. Lawrence that night above the city, while Allen -crossed it below. Allen added about thirty English-Americans to his -force and crossed. The cause of Brown's failure to meet him has never -been explained. Several hundred English-Canadians and Indians with -forty regular soldiers attacked Allen, and for two hours he bravely -and skilfully fought a force several times larger than his own. Most -of Allen's Canadian allies deserted him, and with thirty of his -men he was finally captured, loaded with irons, and transported to -England. - -Thus, within five months, Allen, who had never before seen a battle -or an army, who had never been trained as a soldier, becomes famous -by the capture of Ticonderoga; is influential in preventing the -abandonment of Ticonderoga; is foremost in the institution of a -regiment of Green Mountain Boys; is rejected by that regiment as its -commanding officer; is successful in raising the Canadians; urges -Congress to invade Canada; fails from lack of support in his attack -on Montreal; in five short months, fame, defeat, and bitter captivity. - -Warner's announcement to Montgomery is as follows: - - LA PRAIRIE, September 27, 1775. - - May it please your Honor, I have the disagreeable news to - write you that Colonel Allen hath met a defeat by a stronger - force which sallied out of the town of Montreal after he had - crossed the river about a mile below the town. I have no certain - knowledge as yet whether he is killed, taken, or fled; but his - defeat hath put the French people into great consternation. They - are much concerned for fear of a company coming over against us. - Furthermore the Indian chiefs were at Montreal at the time of - Allen's battle, and there were a number of Caughnawaga Indians - in the battle against Allen, and the people are very fearful of - the Indians. There were six in here last night, I suppose sent - as spies. I asked the Indians concerning their appearing against - us in every battle; their answer to me was, that Carleton made - them drunk and drove them to it; but they said they would do so - no more. I should think it proper to keep a party at Longueil, - and my party is not big enough to divide. If I must tarry here, - I should be glad of my regiment, for my party is made up with - different companies in different regiments, and my regulation is - not as good as I could wish, for subordination to your orders is - my pleasure. I am, sir, with submission, your humble servant, - - SETH WARNER. - - To General Montgomery. - - This moment arrived from Colonel Allen's defeat, Captain Duggan - with the following intelligence: Colonel Allen is absolutely - taken captive to Montreal with a few more, and about two or three - killed, and about as many wounded. The living are not all come - in. Something of a slaughter made among the King's troops. From - yours to serve, - - SETH WARNER. - -Schuyler, Montgomery, and Livingston, in letters written after -the defeat, comment on Allen's imprudence in making the attack -single-handed, but no mention is made of Brown, with whose force -Allen expected to be re-enforced, and with whose help the tide of -battle might have been turned and Canada's future might have been -entirely changed. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -ALLEN'S NARRATIVE.--ATTACK ON MONTREAL.--DEFEAT AND -SURRENDER.--BRUTAL TREATMENT.--ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND.--DEBATES IN -PARLIAMENT. - - -The story of Allen's captivity is best told in his own vivid -narrative as follows: - - On the morning of the 24th day of September I set out with my - guard of about eighty men, from Longueuil, to go to Laprairie, - from whence I determined to go to General Montgomery's camp; I - had not advanced two miles before I met with Major Brown, who has - since been advanced to the rank of a colonel, who desired me to - halt, saying that he had something of importance to communicate - to me and my confidants; upon which I halted the party and went - into a house, and took a private room with him and several of - my associates, where Colonel Brown proposed that, provided I - would return to Longueuil and procure some canoes, so as to - cross the river St. Lawrence a little north of Montreal, he - would cross it a little to the south of the town, with near two - hundred men, as he had boats sufficient, and that we could make - ourselves masters of Montreal. This plan was readily approved by - me and those in council, and in consequence of which I returned - to Longueuil, collected a few canoes, and added about thirty - English-Americans to my party and crossed the river in the night - of the 24th, agreeably to the proposed plan. - - My whole party at this time consisted of about one hundred and - ten men, near eighty of whom were Canadians. We were most of - the night crossing the river, as we had so few canoes that they - had to pass and repass three times to carry my party across. - Soon after daybreak, I set a guard between me and the town, with - special orders to let no person pass or repass them, another - guard on the other end of the road with like directions; in the - mean time, I reconnoitred the best ground to make a defence, - expecting Colonel Brown's party was landed on the other side of - the town, he having the day before agreed to give three huzzas - with his men early in the morning, which signal I was to return, - that we might each know that both parties were landed; but the - sun by this time being nearly two hours high, and the sign - failing, I began to conclude myself to be in a præmunire, and - would have crossed the river back again, but I knew the enemy - would have discovered such an attempt; and as there could not - more than one-third part of my troops cross at a time, the other - two-thirds would of course fall into their hands. This I could - not reconcile to my own feelings as a man, much less as an - officer; I therefore concluded to maintain the ground if possible - and all to fare alike. In consequence of this resolution, I - dispatched two messengers, one to Laprairie to Colonel Brown, and - the other to L'Assomption, a French settlement, to Mr. Walker who - was in our interest, requesting their speedy assistance, giving - them at the same time to understand my critical situation. In - the mean time, sundry persons came to my guards pretending to - be friends, but were by them taken prisoners and brought to me. - These I ordered to confinement until their friendship could be - further confirmed; for I was jealous they were spies, as they - proved to be afterward. One of the principal of them making his - escape, exposed the weakness of my party, which was the final - cause of my misfortune; for I have been since informed that Mr. - Walker, agreeably to my desire, exerted himself, and had raised a - considerable number of men for my assistance, which brought him - into difficulty afterward, but upon hearing of my misfortune he - disbanded them again. - - The town of Montreal was in a great tumult. General Carleton - and the royal party made every preparation to go on board their - vessels of force, as I was afterward informed, but the spy - escaped from my guard to the town occasioned an alteration in - their policy and emboldened General Carleton to send the force - which had there collected out against me. I had previously - chosen my ground, but when I saw the number of the enemy as - they sallied out of the town I perceived it would be a day of - trouble, if not of rebuke; but I had no chance to flee, as - Montreal was situated on an island and the St. Lawrence cut off - my communication to General Montgomery's camp. I encouraged - my soldiers to bravely defend themselves, that we should soon - have help, and that we should be able to keep the ground if no - more. This and much more I affirmed with the greatest seeming - assurance, and which in reality I thought to be in some degree - probable. - - The enemy consisted of not more than forty regular troops, - together with a mixed multitude, chiefly Canadians, with a number - of English who lived in town, and some Indians; in all to the - number of five hundred. - - The reader will notice that most of my party were Canadians; - indeed, it was a motley parcel of soldiery which composed both - parties. However, the enemy began to attack from wood-piles, - ditches, buildings, and such like places, at a considerable - distance, and I returned the fire from a situation more than - equally advantageous. The attack began between two and three - o'clock in the afternoon, just before which I ordered a volunteer - by the name of Richard Young, with a detachment of nine men as - a flank guard, which, under the cover of the bank of the river, - could not only annoy the enemy, but at the same time serve as a - flank guard to the left of the main body. - - The fire continued for some time on both sides; and I was - confident that such a remote method of attack could not carry - the ground, provided it should be continued till night; but near - half the body of the enemy began to flank round to my right, upon - which I ordered a volunteer by the name of John Dugan, who had - lived many years in Canada and understood the French language, to - detach about fifty Canadians, and post himself at an advantageous - ditch which was on my right, to prevent my being surrounded. - He advanced with the detachment, but instead of occupying the - post made his escape, as did likewise Mr. Young upon the left, - with their detachments. I soon perceived that the enemy was in - possession of the ground which Dugan should have occupied. At - this time I had but about forty-five men with me, some of whom - were wounded; the enemy kept closing round me, nor was it in - my power to prevent it; by which means my situation, which was - advantageous in the first part of the attack, ceased to be so in - the last; and being entirely surrounded with such vast, unequal - numbers, I ordered a retreat, but found that those of the enemy - who were of the country, and their Indians, could run as fast - as my men, though the regulars could not. Thus I retreated near - a mile, and some of the enemy with the savages kept flanking - me, and others crowded hard in the rear. In fine, I expected - in a very short time to try the world of spirits; for I was - apprehensive that no quarter would be given to me, and therefore - had determined to sell my life as dear as I could. One of the - enemy's officers boldly pressing in the rear, discharged his - fusee at me; the ball whistled near me, as did many others that - day. I returned the salute and missed him, as running had put - us both out of breath; for I concluded we were not frightened. - I then saluted him with my tongue in a harsh manner, and told - him that inasmuch as his numbers were so far superior to mine, - I would surrender provided I could be treated with honor and be - assured of a good quarter for myself and the men who were with - me; and he answered I should; another officer, coming up directly - after, confirmed the treaty; upon which I agreed to surrender - with my party, which then consisted of thirty-one effective men - and seven wounded. I ordered them to ground their arms, which - they did. - - The officer I capitulated with then directed me and my party to - advance toward him, which was done; I handed him my sword, and - in half a minute after a savage, part of whose head was shaved, - being almost naked and painted, with feathers intermixed with the - hair of the other side of his head, came running to me with an - incredible swiftness; he seemed to advance with more than mortal - speed; as he approached near me, his hellish visage was beyond - all description; snakes' eyes appear innocent in comparison to - his; his features distorted, malice, death, murder, and the wrath - of devils and damned spirits are the emblems of his countenance, - and in less than twelve feet of me, presented his firelock; at - the instant of his present, I twitched the officer to whom I - gave my sword between me and the savage; but he flew round with - great fury, trying to single me out to shoot me without killing - the officer, but by this time I was nearly as nimble as he, - keeping the officer in such a position that his danger was my - defence; but in less than half a minute, I was attacked by just - such another imp of hell. Then I made the officer fly around with - incredible velocity for a few seconds of time, when I perceived - a Canadian who had lost one eye, as appeared afterward, taking - my part against the savages; and in an instant an Irishman - came to my assistance with a fixed bayonet, and drove away the - fiends, swearing by ---- he would kill them. This tragic scene - composed my mind. The escaping from so awful a death made even - imprisonment happy; the more so as my conquerors on the field - treated me with great civility and politeness. - - The regular officers said that they were very happy to see - Colonel Allen. I answered them that I should rather choose to - have seen them at General Montgomery's camp. The gentlemen - replied that they gave full credit to what I said, and as I - walked to the town, which was, as I should guess, more than two - miles, a British officer walking at my right hand and one of - the French noblesse at my left; the latter of which, in the - action, had his eyebrow carried away by a glancing shot, but was - nevertheless very merry and facetious, and no abuse was offered - me till I came to the barrack yard at Montreal, where I met - General Prescott, who asked me my name, which I told him; he then - asked me whether I was that Colonel Allen who took Ticonderoga. - I told him that I was the very man; then he shook his cane over - my head, calling me many hard names, among which he frequently - used the word rebel, and put himself in a great rage. I told him - he would do well not to cane me, for I was not accustomed to it, - and shook my fist at him, telling him that was the beetle of - mortality for him if he offered to strike; upon which Captain - M'Cloud of the British, pulled him by the skirt and whispered - to him, as he afterward told me, to this import, that it was - inconsistent with his honor to strike a prisoner. He then ordered - a sergeant's command with fixed bayonets to come forward and kill - thirteen Canadians who were included in the treaty aforesaid. - - It cut me to the heart to see the Canadians in so hard a case, in - consequence of their having been true to me; they were wringing - their hands, saying their prayers, as I concluded, and expected - immediate death. I therefore stepped between the executioners and - the Canadians, opened my clothes, and told General Prescott to - thrust his bayonet into my breast, for I was the sole cause of - the Canadians taking up arms. - - The guard in the mean time, rolling their eyeballs from the - General to me, as though impatiently waiting his dread command - to sheath their bayonets in my heart; I could however, plainly - discern, that he was in a suspense and quandary about the matter; - this gave me additional hopes of succeeding; for my design was - not to die, but to save the Canadians by a finesse. The general - stood a minute, when he made the following reply: "I will not - execute you now, but you shall grace a halter at Tyburn, ---- - you." - - I remember I disdained his mentioning such a place; I was, - notwithstanding, a little pleased with the expression, as it - significantly conveyed to me the idea of postponing the present - appearance of death; besides, his sentence was by no means final - as to "gracing a halter," although I had anxiety about it after - I landed in England, as the reader will find in the course of - this history. General Prescott then ordered one of his officers - to take me on board the _Gaspee_ schooner of war and confine me, - hands and feet, in irons, which was done the same afternoon I was - taken. - - The action continued an hour and three-quarters by the watch, and - I know not to this day how many of my men were killed, though I - am certain there were but few. If I remember right, seven were - wounded; one of them, Wm. Stewart by name, was wounded by a - savage with a tomahawk after he was taken prisoner and disarmed, - but was rescued by some of the generous enemy, and so far - recovered of his wounds that he afterward went with the other - prisoners to England. - - Of the enemy, were killed a Major Carden, who had been wounded in - eleven different battles, and an eminent merchant, Patterson, of - Montreal, and some others, but I never knew their whole loss, as - their accounts were different. I am apprehensive that it is rare - that so much ammunition was expended and so little execution done - by it; though such of my party as stood the ground, behaved with - great fortitude--much exceeding that of the enemy--but were not - the best of marksmen, and, I am apprehensive, were all killed or - taken; the wounded were all put into the hospital at Montreal, - and those that were not were put on board of different vessels in - the river and shackled together by pairs, viz., two men fastened - together by one handcuff being closely fixed to one wrist of - each of them, and treated with the greatest severity, nay, as - criminals. - - I now come to the description of the irons which were put on - me. The handcuff was of common size and form, but my leg irons - I should imagine would weigh thirty pounds; the bar was eight - feet long and very substantial; the shackles which encompassed - my ankles were very tight. I was told by the officer who put - them on that it was the king's plate, and I heard other of their - officers say that it would weigh forty weight. The irons were - so close upon my ankles, that I could not lay down in any other - manner than on my back. I was put into the lowest and most - wretched part of the vessel, where I got the favor of a chest - to sit on; the same answered for my bed at night; and having - procured some little blocks of the guard, who day and night, with - fixed bayonets watched over me, to lie under each end of the - large bar of my leg irons, to preserve my ankles from galling - while I sat on the chest or lay back on the same, though most - of the time, night and day, I sat on it; but at length having a - desire to lie down on my side, which the closeness of my irons - forbid, I desired the captain to loosen them for that purpose, - but was denied the favor. The captain's name was Royal, who did - not seem to be an ill-natured man, but oftentimes said that his - express orders were to treat me with such severity, which was - disagreeable to his own feelings; nor did he ever insult me, - though many others who came on board did. One of the officers, by - the name of Bradley, was very generous to me; he would often send - me victuals from his own table; nor did a day fail, but he sent - me a good drink of grog. - - The reader is now invited back to the time I was put into irons. - I requested the privilege to write to General Prescott, which was - granted. I reminded him of the kind and generous manner of my - treatment of the prisoners I took at Ticonderoga; the injustice - and ungentlemanlike usage I had met with from him, and demanded - better usage, but received no answer from him. I soon after - wrote to General Carleton, which met the same success. In the - mean while, many of those who were permitted to see me were very - insulting. - - I was confined in the manner I have related, on board the - _Gaspee_ schooner, about six weeks, during which time I was - obliged to throw out plenty of extravagant language, which - answered certain purposes, at that time, better than to grace a - history. - - To give an instance: upon being insulted, in a fit of anger, I - twisted off a nail with my teeth, which I took to be a ten-penny - nail; it went through the mortise of the band of my handcuff, - and at the same time I swaggered over those who abused me, - particularly a Doctor Dace, who told me that I was outlawed by - New York, and deserved death for several years past; was at last - fully ripened for the halter, and in a fair way to obtain it. - When I challenged him, he excused himself, in consequence, as - he said, of my being a criminal; but I flung such a flood of - language at him that it shocked him and the spectators, for my - anger was very great. I heard one say, "Him! he can eat iron!" - After that, a small padlock was fixed to the handcuff instead - of the nail, and as they were mean-spirited in their treatment - to me, so it appeared to me that they were equally timorous and - cowardly. - - I was after sent with the prisoners taken with me to an armed - vessel in the river, which lay off against Quebec under the - command of Captain M'Cloud of the British, who treated me in a - very generous and obliging manner, and according to my rank; in - about twenty-four hours I bid him farewell with regret, but my - good fortune still continued. The name of the captain of the - vessel I was put on board was Littlejohn, who with his officers - behaved in a polite, generous, and friendly manner. I lived with - them in the cabin and fared on the best, my irons being taken - off, contrary to the order he had received from the commanding - officer, but Captain Littlejohn swore that a brave man should not - be used as a rascal on board his ship. - - That I found myself in possession of happiness once more, and the - evils I had lately suffered gave me an uncommon relish for it. - - Captain Littlejohn used to go to Quebec almost every day in order - to pay his respects to certain gentlemen and ladies; being there - on a certain day, he happened to meet with some disagreeable - treatment as he imagined, from a Lieutenant of a man-of-war and - one word brought on another, until the Lieutenant challenged him - to a duel on the plains of Abraham. Captain Littlejohn was a - gentleman, who entertained a high sense of honor, and could do no - less than accept the challenge. - - At nine o'clock the next morning they were to fight. The captain - returned in the evening, and acquainted his lieutenant and me - with the affair. His lieutenant was a high-blooded Scotchman, - as well as himself, who replied to his captain that he should - not want for a second. With this I interrupted him and gave the - captain to understand that since an opportunity had presented, I - would be glad to testify my gratitude to him by acting the part - of a faithful second; on which he gave me his hand, and said that - he wanted no better man. Says he, I am a king's officer, and you - a prisoner under my care; you must therefore go with me to the - place appointed in disguise, and added further: "You must engage - me, upon the honor of a gentleman, that whether I die or live, - or whatever happens, provided you live, that you will return to - my lieutenant on board this ship." All this I solemnly engaged - him. The combatants were to discharge each a pocket pistol, and - then to fall on with their iron-hilted muckle whangers, and one - of that sort was allotted for me; but some British officers, who - interposed early in the morning, settled the controversy without - fighting. - - Now having enjoyed eight or nine days' happiness from the polite - and generous treatment of Captain Littlejohn and his officers, - I was obliged to bid them farewell, parting with them in as - friendly a manner as we had lived together, which, to the best - of my memory, was the eleventh of November; when a detachment of - General Arnold's little army appeared on Point Levi, opposite - Quebec, who had performed an extraordinary march through a - wilderness country with design to have surprised the capital of - Canada; I was then taken on board a vessel called the _Adamant_, - together with the prisoners taken with me, and put under the - power of an English merchant from London, whose name was Brook - Watson; a man of malicious and cruel disposition, and who was - probably excited, in the exercise of his malevolence, by a junto - of tories who sailed with him to England; among whom were Colonel - Guy Johnson, Colonel Closs, and their attendants and associates, - to the number of about thirty. - - All the ship's crew, Colonel Closs in his personal behavior - excepted, behaved toward the prisoners with that spirit of - bitterness which is the peculiar characteristic of tories when - they have the friends of America in their power, measuring their - loyalty to the English king by the barbarity, fraud and deceit - which they exercised toward the whigs. - - A small place in the vessel, inclosed with white-oak plank, - was assigned for the prisoners, and for me among the rest. I - should imagine that it was not more than twenty feet one way, - and twenty-two the other. Into this place we were all, to the - number of thirty-four, thrust and handcuffed, two prisoners more - being added to our number, and were provided with two excrement - tubs; in this circumference we were obliged to eat and perform - the offices of evacuation during the voyage to England, and - were insulted by every blackguard sailor and tory on board, in - the cruellest manner; but what is the most surprising thing - is, that not one of us died in the passage. When I was first - ordered to go into the filthy inclosure, through a small sort - of door, I positively refused, and endeavored to reason the - before-named Brook Watson out of a conduct so derogatory to - every sentiment of honor and humanity, but all to no purpose, - my men being forced in the den already; and the rascal who had - the charge of the prisoners commanded me to go immediately in - among the rest. He further added, that the place was good enough - for a rebel; that it was impertinent for a capital offender - to talk of honor or humanity; that anything short of a halter - was too good for me, and that would be my portion soon after I - landed in England, for which purpose only I was sent thither. - About the same time a lieutenant among the tories insulted me - in a grievous manner, saying I ought to have been executed for - my rebellion against New York, and spit in my face, upon which, - though I was in handcuffs, I sprang at him with both hands and - knocked him partly down, but he scrambled along into the cabin, - and I after him; there he got under the protection of some men - with fixed bayonets, who were ordered to make ready to drive - me into the place aforementioned. I challenged him to fight, - notwithstanding the impediments that were on my hands, and had - the exalted pleasure to see the rascal tremble for fear; his name - I have forgot, but Watson ordered his guard to get me into the - place with the other prisoners, dead or alive; and I had almost - as lieve died as do it, standing it out till they environed me - round with bayonets, and brutish, prejudiced, abandoned wretches - they were, from whom I could expect nothing but wounds or death; - however, I told them that they were good honest fellows, that I - could not blame them; that I was only in dispute with a calico - merchant, who knew not how to behave toward a gentleman of - the military establishment. This was spoken rather to appease - them for my own preservation, as well as to treat Watson with - contempt; but still I found they were determined to force me - into the wretched circumstances, which their prejudiced and - depraved minds had prepared for me; therefore, rather than die I - submitted to their indignities, being drove with bayonets into - the filthy dungeon with the other prisoners, where we were denied - fresh water, except a small allowance, which was very inadequate - to our wants; and in consequence of the stench of the place, - each of us was soon followed with a diarrhœa and fever, which - occasioned intolerable thirst. When we asked for water, we were, - most commonly, instead of obtaining it, insulted and derided; - and to add to all the horrors of the place, it was so dark that - we could not see each other, and were overspread with body-lice. - We had, notwithstanding these severities, full allowance of salt - provisions, and a gill of rum per day; the latter of which was of - the utmost service to us, and, probably, was the means of saving - several of our lives. About forty days we existed in this manner, - when the land's end of England was discovered from the mast head; - soon after which, the prisoners were taken from their gloomy - abode, being permitted to see the light of the sun, and breathe - fresh air, which to us was very refreshing. The day following we - landed at Falmouth. - - A few days before I was taken prisoner I shifted my clothes, by - which I happened to be taken in a Canadian dress, viz., a short - fawn-skin jacket, double breasted, an undervest and breeches of - sagathy, worsted stockings, a decent pair of shoes, two plain - shirts, and a red worsted cap; this was all the clothing I had, - in which I made my appearance in England. - - When the prisoners were landed, multitudes of the citizens of - Falmouth, excited by curiosity, crowded to see us, which was - equally gratifying to us. I saw numbers on the house tops and the - rising adjacent grounds were covered with them, of both sexes. - The throng was so great, that the king's officers were obliged to - draw their swords, and force a passage to Pendennis castle, which - was near a mile from the town, where we were closely confined, in - consequence of orders from General Carleton, who then commanded - in Canada. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -LIFE IN PENDENNIS CASTLE.--LORD NORTH.--ON BOARD THE -"SOLEBAY."--ATTENTIONS RECEIVED IN IRELAND AND MADEIRA. - - - The rascally Brook Watson then set out for London in great haste, - expecting the reward of his zeal; but the ministry received him, - as I have been since informed, rather coolly; but the minority in - parliament took advantage, arguing that the opposition of America - to Great Britain was not a rebellion. If it is, say they, why do - you not execute Colonel Allen according to law? but the majority - argued that I ought to be executed, and that the opposition - was really a rebellion, but that policy obliged them not to do - it, inasmuch as the congress had then most prisoners in their - power; so that my being sent to England, for the purpose of being - executed, and necessity restraining them, was rather a foil on - their laws and authority, and they consequently disapproved of my - being sent thither. But I had never heard the least hint of those - debates in parliament, or of the working of their policy, until - some time after I left England. - - Consequently the reader will readily conceive I was anxious - about my preservation, knowing that I was in the power of a - haughty and cruel nation considered as such. Therefore, the first - proposition which I determined in my own mind was, that humanity - and moral suasion would not be consulted in the determining of my - fate; and those that daily came in great numbers out of curiosity - to see me, both gentle and simple, united in this, that I would - be hanged. A gentleman from America, by the name of Temple, and - who was friendly to me, just whispered to me in the ear, and told - me that bets were laid in London, that I would be executed; he - likewise privately gave me a guinea, but durst say but little to - me. - - However, agreeably to my first negative proposition, that - moral virtue would not influence my destiny, I had recourse to - stratagem, which I was in hopes would move in the circle of - their policy. I requested of the commander of the castle, the - privilege of writing to congress, who, after consulting with an - officer that lived in town, of a superior rank, permitted me to - write. I wrote in the fore part of the letter, a short narrative - of my ill-treatment; but withal let them know that, though I - was treated as a criminal in England, and continued in irons, - together with those taken with me, yet it was, in consequence - of the orders which the commander of the castle received from - General Carleton, and therefore desired congress to desist from - matters of retaliation, until they should know the result of - the government in England respecting their treatment toward me, - and the prisoners with me, and govern themselves accordingly, - with a particular request that, if retaliation should be found - necessary, it might be exercised not according to the smallness - of my character in America, but in proportion to the importance - of the cause for which I suffered. This is, according to my - present recollection, the substance of the letter inscribed: "To - the illustrious Continental Congress." This letter was written - with the view that it should be sent to the ministry at London, - rather than to congress, with a design to intimidate the haughty - English government, and screen my neck from the halter. - - The next day the officer, from whom I obtained license to write, - came to see me and frowned on me on account of the impudence - of the letter, as he phrased it, and further added, "Do you - think that we are fools in England, and would send your letter - to congress, with instructions to retaliate on our own people? - I have sent your letter to Lord North." This gave me inward - satisfaction, though I carefully concealed it with a pretended - resentment, for I found that I had come Yankee over him, and that - the letter had gone to the identical person I designed it for. - Nor do I know to this day, but that it had the desired effect, - though I have not heard anything of the letter since. - - My personal treatment by Lieutenant Hamilton, who commanded - the castle, was very generous. He sent me every day a fine - breakfast and dinner from his own table, and a bottle of good - wine. Another aged gentleman, whose name I cannot recollect, - sent me a good supper. But there was no distinction between me - and the privates; we all lodged in a sort of Dutch bunks, in one - common apartment, and were allowed straw. The privates were well - supplied with provisions, and with me, took effectual measures to - rid themselves of lice. - - I could not but feel, inwardly, extremely anxious for my fate. - This I, however, concealed from the prisoners, as well as from - the enemy, who were perpetually shaking the halter at me. I - nevertheless treated them with scorn and contempt; and having - sent my letter to the ministry, could conceive of nothing more - in my power but to keep up my spirits, behave in a daring, - soldier-like manner, that I might exhibit a good sample of - American fortitude. Such a conduct, I judged, would have a - more probable tendency to my preservation than concession and - timidity. This, therefore, was my deportment: and I had lastly - determined in my mind, that if a cruel death must inevitably - be my portion, I would face it undaunted; and though I greatly - rejoice that I returned to my country and friends, and to see the - power and pride of Great Britain humbled, yet I am confident I - could then have died without the least appearance of dismay. - - I now clearly recollect that my mind was so resolved that I would - not have trembled or shown the least fear, as I was sensible - that it could not alter my fate, nor do more than reproach my - memory, make my last act despicable to my enemies, and eclipse - the other actions of my life. For I reasoned thus, that nothing - was more common than for men to die with their friends around - them, weeping and lamenting over them, but not able to help them, - which was in reality not different in the consequence of it from - such a death as I was apprehensive of; and as death was the - natural consequence of animal life to which the laws of nature - subject mankind, to be timorous and uneasy as to the event and - manner of it was inconsistent with the character of a philosopher - and soldier. The cause I was engaged in I ever viewed worthy - hazarding my life for, nor was I, in the most critical moments - of trouble, sorry that I engaged in it; and as to the world of - spirits, though I knew nothing of the mode or manner of it, I - expected nevertheless, when I should arrive at such a world, that - I should be as well treated as other gentlemen of my merit. - - Among the great numbers of people who came to the castle to see - the prisoners, some gentlemen told me that they had come fifty - miles on purpose to see me, and desired to ask me a number of - questions, and to make free with me in conversation. I gave for - answer that I chose freedom in every sense of the word. Then one - of them asked me what my occupation in life had been. I answered - him, that in my younger days I had studied divinity but was a - conjuror by profession. He replied that I conjured wrong at - the time I was taken; and I was obliged to own that I mistook - a figure at that time, but that I had conjured them out of - Ticonderoga. This was a place of great notoriety in England, so - that the joke seemed to go in my favor. - - It was a common thing for me to be taken out of close - confinement, into a spacious green in the castle, or rather - parade, where numbers of gentlemen and ladies were ready to see - and hear me. I often entertained such audiences with harangues on - the impracticability of Great Britain's conquering the colonies - of America. At one of these times I asked a gentleman for a bowl - of punch, and he ordered his servant to bring it, which he did, - and offered it to me, but I refused to take it from the hand of - his servant; he then gave it to me with his own hand, refusing - to drink with me in consequence of my being a state criminal. - However, I took the punch and drank it all down at one draught, - and handed the gentleman the bowl; this made the spectators as - well as myself merry. - - I expatiated on American freedom. This gained the resentment of - a young beardless gentleman of the company, who gave himself - very great airs, and replied that he knew the Americans very - well, and was certain they could not bear the smell of powder. - I replied that I accepted it as a challenge, and was ready to - convince him on the spot that an American could bear the smell - of powder; at which he answered that he should not put himself - on a par with me. I then demanded him to treat the character - of the Americans with due respect. He answered that I was an - Irishman; but I assured him that I was a full-blooded Yankee, and - in fine bantered him so much, that he left me in possession of - the ground, and the laugh went against him. Two clergymen came to - see me, and inasmuch as they behaved with civility, I returned - them the same. We discoursed on several parts of moral philosophy - and Christianity; and they seemed to be surprised that I should - be acquainted with such topics, or that I should understand a - syllogism or regular mode of argumentation. I am apprehensive - my Canadian dress contributed not a little to the surprise and - excitement of curiosity: to see a gentleman in England regularly - dressed and well behaved would be no sight at all; but such a - rebel as they were pleased to call me, it is probable, was never - before seen in England. - - The prisoners were landed at Falmouth a few days before - Christmas, and ordered on board of the _Solebay_ frigate, Captain - Symonds, on the eighth day of January, 1776, when our hand - irons were taken off. This remove was in consequence, as I have - been since informed, of a writ of habeas corpus, which had been - procured by some gentlemen in England, in order to obtain me my - liberty. - - The _Solebay_, with sundry other men-of-war and about forty - transports, rendezvoused at the cove of Cork, in Ireland, to take - in provisions and water. - - When we were first brought on board, Captain Symonds ordered all - the prisoners and most of the hands on board to go on the deck, - and caused to be read in their hearing a certain code of laws or - rules for the regulation and ordering of their behavior; and then - in a sovereign manner, ordered the prisoners, me in particular, - off the deck and never to come on it again: for, said he, this - is a place for gentlemen to walk. So I went off, an officer - following me, who told me he would show me the place allotted to - me, and took me down to the cabin tier, saying to me this is your - place. - - Prior to this I had taken cold, by which I was in an ill state - of health, and did not say much to the officer; but stayed there - that night, consulted my policy, and I found I was in an evil - case: that a captain of a man-of-war was more arbitrary than a - king, as he could view his territory with a look of his eye, and - a movement of his finger commanded obedience. I felt myself more - desponding than I had done at any time before; for I concluded it - to be a government scheme, to do that clandestinely which policy - forbid to be done under sanction of any public justice and law. - - However, two days after, I shaved and cleansed myself as well as - I could, and went on deck. The captain spoke to me in a great - rage, and said: "Did I not order you not to come on deck?" I - answered him, that at the same time he said, "that it was the - place for gentlemen to walk; that I was Colonel Allen, but had - not been properly introduced to him." He replied, "---- ---- - you, sir, be careful not to walk the same side of the deck - that I do." This gave me encouragement, and ever after that I - walked in the manner he had directed, except when he, at certain - times afterward, had ordered me off in a passion, and I then - would directly afterward go on again, telling him to command - his slaves; that I was a gentleman and had a right to walk the - deck; yet when he expressly ordered me off I obeyed, not out of - obedience to him, but to set an example to the ship's crew, who - ought to obey him. - - To walk to the windward side of the deck is, according to custom, - the prerogative of the captain of the man-of-war, though he, - sometimes, nay commonly, walks with his lieutenants, when no - strangers are by. When a captain from some other man-of-war comes - on board, the captains walk to the windward side, and the other - gentlemen to the leeward. - - It was but a few nights I lodged in the cabin tier before I - gained an acquaintance with the master of arms; his name was - Gillegan, an Irishman, who was a generous and well-disposed man, - and in a friendly manner made me an offer of living with him in a - little berth, which was allotted him between decks, and inclosed - in canvas; his preferment on board was about equal to that of - a sergeant in a regiment. I was comparatively happy in the - acceptance of his clemency, and lived with him in friendship till - the frigate anchored in the harbor of Cape Fear, North Carolina, - in America. - - Nothing of material consequence happened till the fleet - rendezvoused at the cove of Cork, except a violent storm which - brought old hardy sailors to their prayers. It was soon rumored - in Cork that I was on board the _Solebay_, with a number of - prisoners from America, upon which Messrs. Clark & Hays, - merchants in company, and a number of other benevolently disposed - gentlemen, contributed largely to the relief and support of the - prisoners, who were thirty-four in number, and in very needy - circumstances. A suit of clothes from head to foot, including - an overcoat or surtout, and two shirts were bestowed upon each - of them. My suit I received in superfine broadcloth, sufficient - for two jackets and two pairs of breeches, overplus of a suit - throughout, eight fine Holland shirts and socks ready made, with - a number of pairs of silk and worsted hose, two pairs of shoes, - two beaver hats, one of which was sent me, richly laced with - gold, by James Bonwell. The Irish gentlemen furthermore made a - large gratuity of wines of the best sort, spirits, gin, loaf and - brown sugar, tea and chocolate, with a large round of pickled - beef, and a number of fat turkies, with many other articles, - for my sea stores, too tedious to mention here. To the privates - they bestowed on each man two pounds of tea and six pounds of - brown sugar. These articles were received on board at a time - when the captain and first lieutenant were gone on shore, - by the permission of the second lieutenant, a handsome young - gentleman, who was then under twenty-one years of age; his name - was Douglass, son of Admiral Douglass, as I was informed. - - As this munificence was so unexpected and plentiful, I may - add needful, it impressed on my mind the highest sense of - gratitude toward my benefactors; for I was not only supplied - with the necessaries and conveniences of life, but with the - grandeurs and superfluities of it. Mr. Hays, one of the donators - before-mentioned, came on board and behaved in the most obliging - manner, telling me that he hoped my troubles were past, for that - the gentlemen of Cork determined to make my sea stores equal - to that of the captain of the _Solebay_; he made an offer of - live-stock and wherewith to support them; but I knew this would - be denied. And to crown all, did send me by another person fifty - guineas, but I could not reconcile receiving the whole to my - own feelings, as it might have the appearance of avarice, and - therefore received but seven guineas only, and am confident, not - only from the exercises of the present well-timed generosity, but - from a large acquaintance with gentlemen of this nation, that as - a people they excel in liberality and bravery. - - Two days after the receipt of the aforesaid donations, Captain - Symonds came on board full of envy toward the prisoners, and - swore by all that is good that the damned American rebels should - not be feasted at this rate by the damned rebels of Ireland; - he therefore took away all my liquors before-mentioned, except - some of the wine which was secreted, and a two-gallon jug of - old spirits which was reserved for me per favor of Lieutenant - Douglass. The taking of my liquors was abominable in his sight. - He therefore spoke in my behalf, till the captain was angry with - him, and in consequence proceeded and took away all the tea and - sugar which had been given to the prisoners, and confiscated it - to the use of the ship's crew. Our clothing was not taken away, - but the privates were forced to do duty on board. Soon after this - there came a boat to the side of the ship and Captain Symonds - asked a gentleman in it, in my hearing, what his business was, - who answered that he was sent to deliver some sea stores to - Colonel Allen, which, if I remember right, he said were sent from - Dublin; but the captain damned him heartily, ordering him away - from the ship, and would not suffer him to deliver the stores. I - was furthermore informed that the gentlemen in Cork requested of - Captain Symonds that I might be allowed to come into the city, - and that they would be responsible I should return to the frigate - at a given time, which was denied them. - - We sailed from England on the 8th day of January, and from the - cove of Cork on the 12th day of February. Just before we sailed, - the prisoners with me were divided and put on board three - different ships of war. This gave me some uneasiness, for they - were to a man zealous in the cause of liberty, and behaved with - a becoming fortitude in the various scenes of their captivity; - but those who were distributed on board other ships of war were - much better used than those who tarried with me, as appeared - afterward. When the fleet, consisting of about forty-five sail, - including five men-of-war, sailed from the cove with a fresh - breeze, the appearance was beautiful, abstracted from the unjust - and bloody designs they had in view. We had not sailed many days - before a mighty storm arose, which lasted near twenty-four hours - without intermission. The wind blew with relentless fury, and - no man could remain on deck, except he was lashed fast, for the - waves rolled over the deck by turns, with a forcible rapidity, - and every soul on board was anxious for the preservation of - the ship, alias their lives. In this storm the _Thunder-bomb_ - man-of-war sprang a leak, and was afterward floated to some part - of the coast of England, and the crew saved. We were then said to - be in the Bay of Biscay. After the storm abated, I could plainly - discern the prisoners were better used for some considerable time. - - Nothing of consequence happened after this, till we sailed to - the island of Madeira, except a certain favor I had received of - Captain Symonds, in consequence of an application I made to him - for the privilege of his tailor to make me a suit of clothes - of the cloth bestowed on me in Ireland, which he generously - granted. I could then walk the deck with a seeming better grace. - When we had reached Madeira and anchored, sundry gentlemen with - the captain went on shore, who, I conclude, gave the rumor that I - was in the frigate, upon which I soon found that Irish generosity - was again excited; for a gentleman of that nation sent his clerk - on board to know of me if I could accept a sea store from him, - particularly wine. This matter I made known to the generous - Lieutenant Douglass, who readily granted me the favor, provided - the articles could be brought on board during the time of his - command; adding that it would be a pleasure to him to serve me, - notwithstanding the opposition he met with before. So I directed - the gentleman's clerk to inform him that I was greatly in need - of so signal a charity, and desired the young gentleman to make - the utmost dispatch, which he did; but in the mean time Captain - Symonds and his officers came on board, and immediately made - ready for sailing; the wind at the same time being fair, set sail - when the young gentleman was in fair sight with the aforesaid - store. - - The reader will doubtless recollect the seven guineas I received - at the cove of Cork. These enabled me to purchase of the purser - what I wanted, had not the captain strictly forbidden it, though - I made sundry applications to him for that purpose; but his - answer to me, when I was sick, was, that it was no matter how - soon I was dead, and that he was no ways anxious to preserve - the lives of rebels, but wished them all dead; and indeed that - was the language of most of the ship's crew. I expostulated - not only with the captain, but with other gentlemen on board, - on the unreasonableness of such usage; inferring that inasmuch - as the government in England did not proceed against me as a - capital offender, they should not; for that they were by no means - empowered by any authority, either civil or military, to do so; - for the English government had acquitted me by sending me back - a prisoner of war to America, and that they should treat me as - such. I further drew an inference of impolicy on them, provided - they should by hard usage destroy my life; inasmuch as I might, - if living, redeem one of their officers; but the captain replied - that he needed no directions of mine how to treat a rebel; that - the British would conquer the American rebels, hang the Congress - and such as promoted the rebellion, me in particular, and retake - their own prisoners; so that my life was of no consequence in the - scale of their policy. I gave him for answer that if they stayed - till they conquered America before they hanged me, I should die - of old age, and desired that till such an event took place, he - would at least allow me to purchase of the purser, for my own - money, such articles as I greatly needed; but he would not permit - it, and when I reminded him of the generous and civil usage that - their prisoners in captivity in America met with, he said that - it was not owing to their goodness, but to their timidity; for, - said he, they expect to be conquered, and therefore dare not - misuse our prisoners; and in fact this was the language of the - British officers till Burgoyne was taken; happy event! and not - only of the officers but the whole British army. I appeal to - all my brother prisoners who have been with the British in the - southern department for a confirmation of what I have advanced on - this subject. The surgeon of the _Solebay_, whose name was North, - was a very humane, obliging man, and took the best care of the - prisoners who were sick. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -RENDEZVOUS AT CAPE FEAR.--SICKNESS.--HALIFAX JAIL.--LETTER TO GENERAL -MASSEY.--VOYAGE TO NEW YORK.--ON PAROLE. - - - The third day of May we cast anchor in the harbor of Cape Fear, - in North Carolina, as did Sir Peter Parker's ship, of fifty guns, - a little back of the bar; for there was not depth of water for - him to come into the harbor. These two men-of-war, and fourteen - sail of transports and others, came after, so that most of the - fleet rendezvoused at Cape Fear for three weeks. The soldiers on - board the transports were sickly, in consequence of so long a - passage; add to this the small-pox carried off many of them. They - landed on the main, and formed a camp; but the riflemen annoyed - them, and caused them to move to an island in the harbor; but - such cursing of riflemen I never heard. - - A detachment of regulars was sent up Brunswick River; as they - landed they were fired on by those marksmen, and they came back - next day damning the rebels for their unmanly way of fighting, - and swearing they would give no quarter, for they took sight - at them, and were behind timber, skulking about. One of the - detachments said they lost one man; but a negro man who was with - them, and heard what was said, soon after told me that he helped - to bury thirty-one of them; this did me some good to find my - countrymen giving them battle; for I never heard such swaggering - as among General Clinton's little army, who commanded at that - time; and I am apt to think there were four thousand men, though - not two-thirds of them fit for duty. I heard numbers of them - say that the trees in America should hang well with fruit that - campaign, for they would give no quarter. This was in the mouths - of most who I heard speak on the subject, officer as well as - soldier. I wished at that time my countrymen knew, as well as I - did, what a murdering and cruel enemy they had to deal with; but - experience has since taught this country what they are to expect - at the hands of Britons when in their power. - - The prisoners who had been sent on board different men-of-war - at the cove of Cork were collected together, and the whole of - them put on board the _Mercury_ frigate, Captain James Montague, - except one of the Canadians, who died on the passage from - Ireland, and Peter Noble, who made his escape from the _Sphynx_ - man-of-war in this harbor, and, by extraordinary swimming, got - safe home to New England and gave intelligence of the usage of - his brother prisoners. The _Mercury_ set sail from this port for - Halifax about the 20th of May, and Sir Peter Parker was about - to sail with the land forces, under the command of General - Clinton, for the reduction of Charleston, the capital of South - Carolina, and when I heard of his defeat in Halifax, it gave me - inexpressible satisfaction. - - I now found myself under a worse captain than Symonds; for - Montague was loaded with prejudices against everybody and - everything that was not stamped with royalty; and being by nature - underwitted, his wrath was heavier than the others, or at least - his mind was in no instance liable to be diverted by good sense, - humor or bravery, of which Symonds was by turns susceptible. A - Captain Francis Proctor was added to our number of prisoners when - we were first put on board this ship. This gentleman had formerly - belonged to the English service. The captain, and in fine, all - the gentlemen of the ship were very much incensed against him, - and put him in irons without the least provocation, and he was - continued in this miserable situation about three months. In this - passage the prisoners were infected with the scurvy, some more - and some less, but most of them severely. The ship's crew was to - a great degree troubled with it, and I concluded it was catching. - Several of the crew died with it on their passage. I was weak and - feeble in consequence of so long and cruel a captivity, yet had - but little of the scurvy. - - The purser was again expressly forbid by the captain to let me - have anything out of his store; upon which I went upon deck, and - in the handsomest manner requested the favor of purchasing a few - necessaries of the purser, which was denied me; he further told - me, that I should be hanged as soon as I arrived at Halifax. I - tried to reason the matter with him, but found him proof against - reason; I also held up his honor to view, and his behavior to - me and the prisoners in general, as being derogatory to it, - but found his honor impenetrable. I then endeavored to touch - his humanity, but found he had none; for his prepossession of - bigotry to his own party had confirmed him in an opinion that no - humanity was due to unroyalists, but seemed to think that heaven - and earth were made merely to gratify the king and his creatures; - he uttered considerable unintelligible and grovelling ideas, a - little tinctured with monarchy but stood well to his text of - hanging me. He afterward forbade his surgeon to administer any - help to the sick prisoners. I was every night shut down in the - cable tier with the rest of the prisoners, and we all lived - miserably while under his power. But I received some generosity - from several of the midshipmen who in degree alleviated my - misery; one of their names was Putrass; the names of the others - I do not recollect; but they were obliged to be private in the - bestowment of their favor, which was sometimes good wine bitters - and at others a generous drink of grog. - - Some time in the first week of June, we came to anchor at the - Hook of New York, where we remained but three days; in which - time Governor Tryon, Mr. Kemp, the old attorney-general of - New York, and several other perfidious and overgrown tories - and land-jobbers, came on board. Tryon viewed me with a stern - countenance, as I was walking on the leeward side of the deck - with the midshipmen; and he and his companions were walking with - the captain and lieutenant on the windward side of the same, - but never spoke to me, though it is altogether probable that - he thought of the old quarrel between him, the old government - of New York, and the Green Mountain Boys. Then they went with - the captain into the cabin, and the same afternoon returned on - board a vessel, where at that time they took sanctuary from the - resentment of their injured country. What passed between the - officers of the ship and these visitors I know not; but this - I know, that my treatment from the officers was more severe - afterward. - - We arrived at Halifax not far from the middle of June, where the - ship's crew, which was infested with the scurvy, were taken on - shore and shallow trenches dug, into which they were put, and - partly covered with earth. Indeed, every proper measure was taken - for their relief. The prisoners were not permitted any sort of - medicine, but were put on board a sloop which lay in the harbor, - near the town of Halifax, surrounded by several men-of-war and - their tenders, and a guard constantly set over them, night and - day. The sloop we had wholly to ourselves, except the guard - who occupied the forecastle; here we were cruelly pinched with - hunger; it seemed to me that we had not more than one-third of - the common allowance. We were all seized with violent hunger and - faintness; we divided our scanty allowance as exact as possible. - I shared the same fate with the rest, and though they offered me - more than an even share, I refused to accept it, as it was a time - of substantial distress, which in my opinion I ought to partake - equally with the rest, and set an example of virtue and fortitude - to our little commonwealth. - - I sent letter after letter to Captain Montague, who still had - the care of us, and also to his lieutenant, whose name I cannot - call to mind, but could obtain no answer, much less a redress of - grievances; and to add to the calamity, nearly a dozen of the - prisoners were dangerously ill of the scurvy. I wrote private - letters to the doctors, to procure, if possible, some remedy for - the sick, but in vain. The chief physician came by in a boat, - so close that the oars touched the sloop that we were in, and - I uttered my complaint in the genteelest manner to him, but he - never so much as turned his head, or made me any answer, though - I continued speaking till he got out of hearing. Our cause then - became deplorable. Still I kept writing to the captain, till - he ordered the guards, as they told me, not to bring any more - letters from me to him. In the mean time an event happened worth - relating. One of the men, almost dead with the scurvy, lay by - the side of the sloop, and a canoe of Indians coming by, he - purchased two quarts of strawberries, and ate them at once, and - it almost cured him. The money he gave for them was all the money - he had in the world. After that we tried every way to procure - more of that fruit, reasoning from analogy that they might have - the same effect on others infested with the same disease, but - could obtain none. - - Meanwhile the doctor's mate of the _Mercury_ came privately on - board the prison sloop and presented me with a large vial of - smart drops, which proved to be good for the scurvy, though - vegetables and some other ingredients were requisite for a cure: - but the drops gave at least a check to the disease. This was - a well-timed exertion of humanity, but the doctor's name has - slipped my mind, and in my opinion, it was the means of saving - the lives of several men. - - The guard which was set over us was by this time touched with - feelings of compassion; and I finally trusted one of them with - a letter of complaint to Governor Arbuthnot, of Halifax, which - he found means to communicate, and which had the desired effect; - for the governor sent an officer and surgeon on board the prison - sloop to know the truth of the complaint. The officer's name - was Russell; he held the rank of lieutenant, and treated me in - a friendly and polite manner, and was really angry at the cruel - and unmanly usage the prisoners met with; and with the surgeon - made a true report of matters to Governor Arbuthnot, who, either - by his order or influence, took us next day from the prison - sloop to Halifax jail, where I first became acquainted with the - now Hon. James Lovel, one of the members of Congress for the - State of Massachusetts. The sick were taken to the hospital, - and the Canadians, who were effective, were employed in the - king's works; and when their countrymen were recovered from the - scurvy and joined them, they all deserted the king's employ, and - were not heard of at Halifax as long as the remainder of the - prisoners continued there, which was till near the middle of - October. We were on board the prison sloop about six weeks, and - were landed at Halifax near the middle of August. Several of our - English-American prisoners, who were cured of the scurvy at the - hospital, made their escape from thence, and after a long time - reached their old habitations. - - I had now but thirteen with me of those who were taken in Canada, - and remained in jail with me at Halifax, who, in addition - to those that were imprisoned before, made our number about - thirty-four, who were all locked up in one common large room, - without regard to rank, education, or any other accomplishment, - where we continued from the setting to the rising sun; and as - sundry of them were infected with the jail and other distempers, - the furniture of this spacious room consisted principally of - excrement tubs. We petitioned for a removal of the sick into - the hospitals, but were denied. We remonstrated against the - ungenerous usage of being confined with the privates, as being - contrary to the laws and customs of nations, and particularly - ungrateful in them in consequence of the gentleman-like usage - which the British imprisoned officers met with in America; and - thus we wearied ourselves, petitioning and remonstrating, but to - no purpose at all; for General Massey, who commanded at Halifax, - was as inflexible as the devil himself, a fine preparative this - for Mr. Lovel, member of the Continental Congress. - - Lieutenant Russell, whom I have mentioned before, came to visit - me in prison, and assured me that he had done his utmost to - procure my parole for enlargement; at which a British captain, - who was then town-major, expressed compassion for the gentlemen - confined in the filthy place, and assured me that he had used his - influence to procure their enlargement; his name was near like - Ramsey. Among the prisoners there were four in number who had a - legal claim to a parole, a Mr. Howland, master of a continental - armed vessel, a Mr. Taylor, his mate, and myself. - - As to the article of provision, we were well served, much - better than in any part of my captivity; and since it was Mr. - Lovel's misfortune and mine to be prisoners, and in so wretched - circumstances, I was happy that we were together as a mutual - support to each other and to the unfortunate prisoners with - us. Our first attention was the preservation of ourselves - and injured little republic; the rest of our time we devoted - interchangeably to politics and philosophy, as patience was a - needful exercise in so evil a situation, but contentment mean and - impracticable. - - I had not been in this jail many days, before a worthy and - charitable woman, by the name of Mrs. Blacden, supplied me with - a good dinner of fresh meats every day, with garden fruit, and - sometimes with a bottle of wine; notwithstanding which I had - not been more than three weeks in this place before I lost my - appetite to the most delicious food by the jail distemper, as - also did sundry of the prisoners, particularly Sergeant Moore, - a man of courage and fidelity. I have several times seen him - hold the boatswain of the _Solebay_ frigate, when he attempted - to strike him, and laughed him out of conceit of using him as a - slave. - - A doctor visited the sick, and did the best, as I suppose, he - could for them, to no apparent purpose. I grew weaker and weaker, - as did the rest. Several of them could not help themselves. At - last I reasoned in my own mind that raw onion would be good. I - made use of it, and found immediate relief by it, as did the sick - in general, particularly Sergeant Moore, whom it recovered almost - from the shades; though I had met with a little revival, still - I found the malignant hand of Britain had greatly reduced my - constitution with stroke upon stroke. Esquire Lovel and myself - used every argument and entreaty that could be well conceived - of in order to obtain gentleman-like usage, to no purpose. I - then wrote General Massey as severe a letter as I possibly could - with my friend Lovel's assistance. The contents of it was to - give the British, as a nation, and him as an individual, their - true character. This roused the rascal, for he could not bear to - see his and the nation's deformity in that transparent letter, - which I sent him; he therefore put himself in a great rage about - it, and showed the letter to a number of British officers, - particularly to Captain Smith of the _Lark_ frigate, who instead - of joining with him in disapprobation commended the spirit of it; - upon which General Massey said to him, do you take the part of a - rebel against me? Captain Smith answered that he rather spoke his - sentiments and there was a dissension in opinion between them. - Some officers took the part of the general and others of the - captain. This I was informed of by a gentleman who had it from - Captain Smith. - - In a few days after this, the prisoners were ordered to go on - board of a man-of-war, which was bound for New York; but two of - them were not able to go on board, and were left at Halifax; - one died; and the other recovered. This was about the 12th of - October, and soon after we had got on board, the captain sent - for me in particular to come on the quarter deck. I went, not - knowing that it was Captain Smith or his ship at that time, and - expected to meet the same rigorous usage I had commonly met with - and prepared my mind accordingly; but when I came on deck, the - captain met me with his hand, welcomed me to his ship, invited - me to dine with him that day, and assured me that I should be - treated as a gentleman, and that he had given orders that I - should be treated with respect by the ship's crew. This was so - unexpected and sudden a transition that it drew tears from my - eyes which all the ill usage I had before met with was not able - to produce, nor could I at first hardly speak, but soon recovered - myself and expressed my gratitude for so unexpected a favor; - and let him know that I felt anxiety of mind in reflecting that - his situation and mine was such that it was not probable that - it would ever be in my power to return the favor. Captain Smith - replied that he had no reward in view, but only treated me as a - gentleman ought to be treated; he said this is a mutable world, - and one gentleman never knows but it may be in his power to - help another. Soon after I found this to be the same Captain - Smith who took my part against General Massey; but he never - mentioned anything of it to me, and I thought it impolite in me - to interrogate him as to any disputes which might have arisen - between him and the general on my account, as I was a prisoner, - and that it was at his option to make free with me on that - subject if he pleased; and if he did not, I might take it for - granted that it would be unpleasing for me to query about it, - though I had a strong propensity to converse with him on that - subject. - - I dined with the captain agreeable to his invitation, and - oftentimes with the lieutenant, in the gun-room, but in general - ate and drank with my friend Lovel and the other gentlemen who - were prisoners with me, where I also slept. - - We had a little berth inclosed with canvas, between decks, where - we enjoyed ourselves very well, in hopes of an exchange; besides, - our friends at Halifax had a little notice of our departure - and supplied us with spirituous liquor, and many articles - of provisions for the cost. Captain Burk, having been taken - prisoner, was added to our company (he had commanded an American - armed vessel) and was generously treated by the captain and all - the officers of the ship, as well as myself. We now had in all - near thirty prisoners on board, and as we were sailing along the - coast, if I recollect right, off Rhode Island, Captain Burk, with - an under-officer of the ship, whose name I do not recollect, - came to our little berth, proposed to kill Captain Smith and the - principal officers of the frigate and take it; adding that there - were thirty-five thousand pounds sterling in the same. Captain - Burk likewise averred that a strong party out of the ship's crew - was in the conspiracy, and urged me, and the gentleman that was - with me, to use our influence with the private prisoners to - execute the design, and take the ship with the cash into one of - our own ports. - - Upon which I replied that we had been too well used on board to - murder the officers; that I could by no means reconcile it to - my conscience, and that, in fact, it should not be done; and - while I was yet speaking my friend Lovel confirmed what I had - said, and farther pointed out the ungratefulness of such an - act; that it did not fall short of murder, and in fine all the - gentlemen in the berth opposed Captain Burk and his colleague. - But they strenuously urged that the conspiracy would be found - out, and that it would cost them their lives, provided they did - not execute their design. I then interposed spiritedly and put - an end to further argument on the subject, and told them that - they might depend upon it upon my honor that I would faithfully - guard Captain Smith's life. If they should attempt the assault - I would assist him, for they desired me to remain neuter, and - that the same honor that guarded Captain Smith's life would also - guard theirs; and it was agreed by those present not to reveal - the conspiracy, to the intent that no man should be put to death, - in consequence of what had been projected; and Captain Burk, and - his colleague went to stifle the matter among their associates. - I could not help calling to mind what Captain Smith said to me, - when I first came on board: "This is a mutable world, and one - gentleman never knows but that it may be in his power to help - another." Captain Smith and his officers still behaved with their - usual courtesy, and I never heard any more of the conspiracy. - - We arrived before New York, and cast anchor the latter part - of October, where we remained several days, and where Captain - Smith informed me that he had recommended me to Admiral Howe - and General Sir William Howe, as a gentleman of honor and - veracity, and desired that I might be treated as such. Captain - Burk was then ordered on board a prison ship in the harbor. I - took my leave of Captain Smith and, with the other prisoners, - was sent on board a transport ship which lay in the harbor, - commanded by Captain Craige, who took me into the cabin with - him and his lieutenant. I fared as they did, and was in every - respect well treated, in consequence of directions from Captain - Smith. In a few weeks after this I had the happiness to part - with my friend Lovel, for his sake, whom the enemy affected to - treat as a private; he was a gentleman of merit, and liberally - educated, but had no commission; they maligned him on account - of his unshaken attachment to the cause of his country. He was - exchanged for a Governor Philip Skene of the British. I was - continued in this ship till the latter part of November, where - I contracted an acquaintance with a captain of the British; his - name has slipped my memory. He was what we may call a genteel, - hearty fellow. I remember an expression of his over a bottle of - wine, to this import: "That there is a greatness of soul for - personal friendship to subsist between you and me, as we are upon - opposite sides, and may at another day be obliged to face each - other in the field." I am confident that he was as faithful as - any officer in the British army. At another sitting he offered to - bet a dozen of wine that Fort Washington would be in the hands - of the British in three days. I stood the bet, and would, had - I known that that would have been the case; and the third day - afterward we heard a heavy cannonade, and that day the fort was - taken sure enough. Some months after, when I was on parole, he - called upon me with his usual humor, and mentioned the bet. I - acknowledged that I had lost it, but he said he did not mean to - take it, then, as I was a prisoner; that he would another day - call upon me, when their army came to Bennington. I replied that - he was quite too generous, as I had fairly lost it; besides, the - Green Mountain Boys would not suffer them to come to Bennington. - This was all in good humor. I should have been glad to have seen - him after the defeat at Bennington, but did not. It was customary - for a guard to attend the prisoners, which was often changed. - One was composed of tories from Connecticut, in the vicinity of - Fairfield and Green Farms. The sergeant's name was Hoit. They - were very full of their invectives against the country, swaggered - of their loyalty to their king, and exclaimed bitterly against - the "cowardly Yankees," as they were pleased to term them, but - finally contented themselves with saying that when the country - was overcome they should be well rewarded for their loyalty - out of the estates of the whigs, which would be confiscated. - This I found to be the general language of the tories, after I - arrived from England on the American coast. I heard sundry of - them relate, that the British generals had engaged them an ample - reward for their losses, disappointments and expenditures, out of - the forfeited rebels' estates. This language early taught me what - to do with tories' estates, as far as my influence can go. For it - is really a game of hazard between whig and tory. The whigs must - inevitably have lost all, in consequence of the abilities of the - tories, and their good friends the British; and it is no more - than right the tories should run the same risk, in consequence of - the abilities of the whigs. But of this more will be observed in - the sequel of this narrative. - - Some of the last days of November the prisoners were landed at - New York, and I was admitted to parole with the other officers, - viz.: Proctor, Howland, and Taylor. The privates were put into - filthy churches in New York, with the distressed prisoners that - were taken at Fort Washington; and the second night, Sergeant - Roger Moore, who was bold and enterprising, found means to make - his escape with every one of the remaining prisoners that were - taken with him, except three, who were soon after exchanged. So - that out of thirty-one prisoners, who went with me the round - exhibited in these sheets, two only died with the enemy, and - three only were exchanged; one of whom died after he came within - our lines; all the rest, at different times, made their escape - from the enemy. - - I now found myself on parole, and restricted to the limits of the - city of New York, where I soon projected means to live in some - measure agreeably to my rank, though I was destitute of cash. My - constitution was almost worn out by such a long and barbarous - captivity. The enemy gave out that I was crazy, and wholly - unmanned, but my vitals held sound, nor was I delirious any more - than I had been from youth up; but my extreme circumstances, at - certain times, rendered it politic to act in some measure the - madman; and in consequence of a regular diet and exercise, my - blood recruited, and my nerves in a great measure recovered their - former tone, strength and usefulness, in the course of six months. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -RELEASE FROM PRISON.--WITH WASHINGTON AT VALLEY FORGE.--THE HALDIMAND -CORRESPONDENCE. - - -Allen's narrative in the preceding chapter gives a picture of -himself, of the times, and of the treatment of prisoners by the most -civilized nation on earth. In January, 1777, with other American -officers, he was quartered on Long Island. In August he was sent to -the provost jail in New York. May 3, 1778, he was exchanged for Col. -Alexander Campbell. Thus he was treated as a colonel, although he had -no fixed official rank or title beyond that informally bestowed on -him by Montgomery. He was entertained with gentlemanly courtesy for -two days at General Campbell's headquarters on Staten Island, and -then crossed New Jersey amid the acclamations of the people. - -For several days he was the guest of Washington at Valley Forge. -Here, eighteen miles northwest of Philadelphia, where the British -army was revelling in luxury, Washington, with three thousand men -suffering from cold and hunger, was praying to God for guidance in -so sore a strait. Baron Steuben was there fresh from the service -of Frederic the Great, disciplining the raw recruits into veteran -soldiers never again to know defeat. There were Gates, attending a -court-martial, and Putnam and Lafayette. These were among Allen's -red-letter days; courteously entertained by some of the best soldiers -of Europe and America, and the favored guest of Washington, could -Heaven reward him better for his long imprisonment? Here he writes a -letter to Congress which Washington forwards inclosed with his own. -Allen began the journey to his Vermont home in company with Gates, -arriving in Fishkill on May 18, and in Bennington just four weeks -after his release from prison. - -We now come to a chapter in Allen's life which the biographer must -enter upon with a mind free from prejudice, and with a strong desire -to assimilate the feelings of the age when our little commonwealth -was in process of formation. About the close of the year 1776, Allen -being a prisoner on parole in New York, a British officer of rank -sent for him to come to his lodgings. He told him that his fidelity, -although in a wrong cause, had recommended him to General Sir William -Howe, who wished to make him the colonel of a regiment of tories. He -proposed that Allen in a few days should go to England, be paid in -gold instead of continental rag money, be introduced to Lord George -Germaine and probably to the king, return to America with Burgoyne, -assist in reducing the country, and receive a large tract of land -in Vermont or Connecticut as he preferred. Allen replied: "If by -fidelity I have recommended myself to General Howe, I shall be loath -by unfaithfulness to lose the general's good opinion; besides, I view -the offer of land to be similar to that which the devil offered our -Saviour, 'to give him all the kingdoms of the world to fall down and -worship him,' when the poor devil had not one foot of land on earth." - -Mr. B. F. Stevens, an American resident of London, and an -indefatigable collector of documents relating to early American -history gathered from the British archives, furnishes a letter -written by Alexander C. Wedderburn, solicitor-general, on the morning -of December 27, 1775, to William Eden, under-secretary of state. On -the same day at noon a cabinet meeting was to be held at which was -to be considered the disposition to be made of Ethan Allen and other -prisoners who had reached England five days before. The "Lord S." -referred to is Lord Suffolk, secretary of state, and the "Attorney" -is Lord Edward Therlow, attorney-general: - - DEAR EDEN:--I shall certainly attend Lord S. at 12 o'clock. My - idea of the Business does not differ much from the Attorney's. - My thoughts have been employed upon it ever since I saw you, and - I am persuaded some unlucky incident must arise if Allen and his - People are kept here. It must be understood that Government does - not mean to execute them, the Prosecution will be remiss and the - Disposition of some People to thwart it very active. I would - therefore send them back, but I think something more might be - done than merely to return them as Prisoners to America. Allen, - by Kay's [William Kay, secret service agent at Montreal] account, - took up arms because he was dispossessed of Lands he had settled - between Hampshire and New York, in consequence of an order of - Council settling the boundary of these two provinces, and had - balanced for some time whether to have recourse to ye Rebels or - to Mr. Carleton [governor-general of the Province of Quebec]. - The doubt of being well received by the latter determined him to - join the former, and Kay adds that he is a bold, active fellow. I - would then send to him a Person of Confidence with this Proposal: - that his case had been favorably represented to Government; - that the injury he had suffered was some Alleviation for his - crime, and that it arose from an Abuse of an order of Council - which was never meant to dispossess the Settlers in the Lands in - debate between ye two provinces. If he has a mind to return to - his duty He may not only have his pardon from Gen. Howe but a - Company of Rangers, and in the event if He behaves well His lands - restored on these terms, he and his men shall be sent back to - Boston at liberty; if he does not accept them he and they must - be disposed of as the Law directs. If he should behave well it - is an Acquisition. If not there is still an Advantage in finding - a decent reason for not immediately proceeding against him as a - Rebel. Some of the People who came over in the Ship with him, or - perhaps Kay himself, might easily settle this bargain if it is - set about directly. - - Yours ever, A. C. W. - -A correspondent of the Burlington _Free Press_, January 7, 1887, adds -this comment: - - That it was agreed to in the cabinet appears in the fact that - on the very 27th December, 1775, Lord George Germaine of the - admiralty ordered that Allen and his associates be returned to - General Howe in Boston. Howe evacuated Boston March 16, 1776, - went to Halifax, and thence to New York. Allen followed him round - and was ultimately a prisoner on parole until the 6th of May, - 1778, when he was exchanged for Col. Archibald Campbell. While he - was on parole the "Person of Confidence" was found to make the - proposal suggested by Wedderburn, and Allen mentions this in the - narrative of his captivity. - -Who was the British officer of high rank whom Howe employed to buy up -Allen we do not know, but the American whom Clinton employed we do -know: Beverly Robinson, a Virginian, made wealthy by marriage with -Susanna Phillipse, sister of Mary Phillipse, for whom Washington had -an attachment. He was the son of a lieutenant-governor, and an early -associate of Washington. In 1780 occurred this third attempt to buy -Allen. Robinson was the man selected to make the proposition. Ethan -Allen was the man selected to be bribed: not Governor Chittenden; -not the soldiers Roger Enos or Seth Warner; not the diplomat, the -treasurer, the financier of the State, Ira Allen; not the young -lawyers Nathaniel Chipman or S. R. Bradley; but the man who had been -tempted in England and tempted in New York, the man whose loyalty -had not been shaken by the endurance of British brutality for two and -one-half years. The time to hope for success would seem to have been -December, 1775, on English soil, when he had reasonable grounds to -fear being hung for treason, or in New York, in 1777, when Washington -had been driven out of Long Island, out of New York City, and chased -across New Jersey. This time chosen was in 1780, when Congress had -alienated Vermont by ignoring her claims to federation, and had -treated her with such contempt that there was almost no hope of her -joining the United States. - -Long Island knew of Ethan's temptation before he did. The air was -full of it. The contents of Robinson's letter were known to the -tories before Allen received it. The letter written in February was -delivered in July. Washington heard in July that Allen was in New -York selling himself to the British. Schuyler had spies everywhere. -They reported Allen in Canada. General James Clinton suspected -Allen. The correspondence and flag for cartel smelt of treason. -Washington had tried to effect an exchange of prisoners, and failed. -His letter to Haldimand was unanswered. Gooch had applied, in July, -to Washington, and Allen wrote to Washington at the request of the -governor. Washington replied he could not prefer Warner's men to -those who had been prisoners longer, but here the correspondence -languished. - -In the _Magazine of American History_, published in New York, -January, 1887, is an article entitled "A Curious Chapter in Vermont's -History," dated Ottawa, Canada, November, 1886, signed J. L. Payne, -in which the writer says there are hundreds of manuscripts in the -Canadian archives which prove that Vermont narrowly escaped becoming -a British province. The chief evidence that he furnishes is extracts -from the letters of Capt. Justus Sherwood, commissioner for General -Haldimand, Governor of Canada. These letters indicate that on October -26, 1780, Sherwood left Miller Bay with five privates, a flag, -drum, and fife. On October 28th he is at Herrick's Camp, a Vermont -frontier post of three hundred men. He is blindfolded and taken to -Colonel Herrick's room. He tells Herrick that he is sent by Major -Carleton to negotiate a cartel for the exchange of prisoners, and -that he had dispatches from Governor Haldimand and Major Carleton -to Governor Chittenden and Governor Allen. Next Sherwood is at -Allen's headquarters in Castleton, and Allen having promised absolute -secrecy, Sherwood informs him that: - - General Haldimand was no stranger to their disputes with the - other States respecting jurisdiction, and that his excellency was - perfectly well informed of all that had lately passed between - congress and Vermont, and of the fixed intentions of congress - never to consent to Vermont's being a separate State. General - Haldimand felt that in this congress was only duping them, and - waited for a favorable opportunity to crush them; and therefore - it was proper for them to cast off the congressional yoke and - resume their former allegiance to the king of Great Britain, by - doing which they would secure to themselves those privileges they - had so long contended for with New York. - -Allen is reported by Sherwood as replying that he was attached to the -interests of Vermont, and that nothing but the continued tyranny of -Congress could drive him from allegiance to the United States; but -"Should he have any proposals to make to General Haldimand hereafter, -they would be nearly as follows: He will expect to command his own -forces. Vermont must be a government separate from and independent -of any other Province in America; must chose their own officers and -civil representatives; be entitled to all the privileges of the other -states offered by the King's commissioners, and the New Hampshire -Grants as chartered by Benning Wentworth, Governor of New Hampshire, -must be confirmed free from any patents or claims from New York -or other Provinces. He desires me to inform His Excellency that a -revolution of this nature must be the work of time.... If, however, -Congress should grant Vermont a seat in that Assembly as a separate -State, then this negotiation to be at an end and be kept secret on -both sides." - -On May 7, 1781, Ira Allen visited Canada, and concerning a conference -with him Captain Sherwood reports to the governor: - - He says matters are not yet ripe. Governor Chittenden, General - Allen and the major part of the leading men are anxious to bring - about a neutrality, and are fully convinced that Congress never - intends to confirm them as a separate State; but they dare not at - this time make any separate agreement with Great Britain until - the populace are better modelled for the purpose. - -A few days later Captain Sherwood reports to the governor: - - Those suspicious circumstances, with the great opinion Allen - [referring to Col. Ira Allen] seems to entertain of the mighty - power and consequence of Vermont, induce me to think they - flatter themselves with the belief that, if Britain should - invade them, the neighboring colonies rather than lose them as - a frontier would protect them, and, on the other hand, should - congress invade them, they could easily be admitted to a union - with Britain at the latest hour, which they would at the last - extremity choose as the least of two evils; for Allen says - they hate congress like the devil, and have not yet a very - good opinion of Britain. Sometimes I am inclined, from Allen's - discourse, to hope and almost believe that they are endeavoring - to prepare for a reunion. To this I suppose I am somewhat - inclined by my anxious desire that it may be so. - -Upon Col. Ira Allen's return to Vermont, Captain Sherwood reports: - - I believe Allen has gone with a full determination to do his - utmost for a reunion, and I believe he will be seconded by - Governor Chittenden, his brother Ethan Allen and a few others, - all acting from interest, without any principle of loyalty. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -VERMONT'S TREATMENT BY CONGRESS.--ALLEN'S LETTERS TO COLONEL WEBSTER -AND TO CONGRESS.--REASONS FOR BELIEVING ALLEN A PATRIOT. - - -The conduct of Congress in asking New York, Massachusetts, and New -Hampshire to empower it to settle Vermont, without allowing her to -act as a party but allowing her to look on, dallying and postponing -the measure indefinitely, indicated New York's control of Congress, -and, as might have been expected, Vermont's prowess and pluck would -not submit to organic annihilation without a fight. The British, -under advice from home, might easily strive to take advantage of the -bitter feelings engendered. Congress was struggling with the question -of the ownership of western lands. Virginia and New York claimed -almost all, the former by virtue of Clarke's conquests and the latter -by purchase of the Iroquois, both shadowy, attenuated claims. The -smaller States wanted Vermont in the Union to vote against these -claims. Ethan Allen's letters, showing the turmoil of feeling in -Vermont, as well as his own patriotism, have often been quoted. - -To Colonel Webster he wrote: - - SIR:--Last evening I received a flag from Major Carleton - commanding the British forces at Crown Point, with proposals from - General Haldimand, commander-in-chief in Canada, for settling a - cartel for the exchange of prisoners. Major Carleton has pledged - his faith that no hostilities shall be committed on any posts or - scouts within the limits of this state during the negotiation. - Lest your state [New York] should suffer an incursion in the - interim of time, I have this day dispatched a flag to Major - Carleton, requesting that he extend cessation of hostilities on - the northern parts and frontiers of New York. You will therefore - conduct your affairs as to scouts, &c., only on the defensive - until you hear further from me. - - I am, &c., ETHAN ALLEN. - - To Colonel Webster. To be communicated to Colonel - Williams and the posts on your frontier. - -He also wrote to Colonel Webster: - - RUPERT, about break of day - of the 31st October, 1780. - - SIR:--Maj. Ebenezer Allen who commands at Pittsford has sent an - express to me at this place, informing me that one of his scouts - at 1 or 2 o'clock P.M. on the 29th instant, from Chimney Point, - discovered four or five ships and gun-boats and batteaux, the - lake covered and black, all making sail to Ticonderoga, skiffs - flying to and from the vessels to the batteaux giving orders, - and the foregoing quoted from the letter verbatim. But I cannot - imagine that Major Carleton will violate his truce. I have sent - Major Clarke with a flag to Major Carleton, particularly to - confirm the truce on my part, and likewise to intercede in behalf - of the frontiers of New York. What the motion of the British may - be, or their design, I know not. You must judge for yourself. I - send out scouts to further discover the object of the enemy. Maj. - [Ebenezer] Allen thinks they have a design against your state. - - From your humble servant, - - ETHAN ALLEN. - -He wrote to the president of Congress: - - SUNDERLAND, 9 March, 1781. - - SIR:--Inclosed I transmit your excellency two letters which I - received under the signature thereto annexed, that they may - be laid before congress. Shall make no comments on them, but - submit the disposal of them to their consideration. They are the - identical and only letters I ever received from him, and to which - I have never returned any manner of answer, nor have I ever had - the least personal acquaintance with him, directly or indirectly. - The letter of the 2d February, 1781, I received a few days afore - with a duplicate of the other, which I received the latter part - of July last past, in the high road in Arlington, which I laid - before Governor Chittenden and a number of other principal - gentlemen of the state (within ten minutes after I received - it) for advice; the result, after mature deliberation, and - considering the extreme circumstances of the state, was to take - no further notice of the matter. The reasons of such a procedure - are very obvious to people of this state, when they consider that - congress has previously claimed an exclusive right of arbitrating - on the existence of Vermont as a separate government. New York, - New Hampshire and Massachusetts Bay at the same time claiming - this territory, either in whole or in part, and exerting their - influence to make schisms among the citizens, thereby in a - considerable degree weakening this government and exposing its - inhabitants to the incursions of the British troops and their - savage allies from the province of Quebec. It seems that those - governments, regardless of Vermont's contiguous situation to - Canada, do not consider that their northern frontiers have been - secured by her, nor of the merit of this state in a long and - hazardous war, but have flattered themselves with the expectation - that this state could not fail (their help) to be desolated by a - foreign enemy, and that their exorbitant claims and avaricious - designs may at some future period take place in this district of - country. Notwithstanding those complicated embarrassments, and - I might add discouragements, Vermont during the last campaign - defended her frontiers, and at the close of it opened a truce - with General Haldimand (who commands the British troops in - Canada) in order to settle a cartel for the mutual exchange of - prisoners, which continued near four weeks in the same situation, - during which time Vermont secured the northern frontiers of - her own, and that of the state of New York in consequence of - my including the latter in the truce, although that government - could have but little claim to my protection. I am confident that - congress will not dispute my sincere attachment to the cause of - my country, though I do not hesitate to say I am fully grounded - in opinion that Vermont has indubitable right to agree on terms - of cessation of hostilities with Great Britain, provided the - United States persist in rejecting her application for a union - with them, for Vermont of all people would be the most miserable - were she obliged to defend the independence of United States - and they at the same time claiming full liberty to overturn and - ruin the independence of Vermont. I am persuaded when congress - considers the circumstances of this state, they will be more - surprised that I have transmitted them the inclosed letters than - that I have kept them in custody so long, for I am as resolutely - determined to defend the independence of Vermont, as congress - are that of the United States, and, rather than fail, will retire - with hardy Green Mountain Boys into the desolate caverns of the - mountains and wage war with human nature at large. - - (Signed) ETHAN ALLEN. - - His Excellency Samuel Huntingdon, Esq., Pres. of Congress. - -Allen wrote to General Schuyler: - - BENNINGTON, May 15, 1781. - - A flag which I sent last fall to the British commanding officer - at Crown Point, and which was there detained near one month, - on their return gave me to understand that they [the British], - at several different times, threatened to captivate your own - person: said that it had been in their power to take some of - your family the last campaign [during Carleton's invasion in - October, 1780, probably], but that they had an eye to yourself. I - must confess that such conversation before my flag seems rather - flummery than real premeditated design. However, that there was - such conversation I do not dispute, which you will make such - improvement of as you see fit. I shall conclude with assuring - your honor, that notwithstanding the late reports, or rather - surmises of my corresponding with the enemy to the prejudice of - the United States, it is wholly without foundation. - - I am, sir, with due respect, your honor's obedient and humble - servant, - - ETHAN ALLEN. - - To General Schuyler. - -The following letter, believed by some people to have been written by -Allen to General Haldimand, June 16, 1782, though unsigned, contains -what is considered by his traducers damning evidence: - - SIR:--I have to acquaint your excellency that I had a long - conference with ... [a British agent] last night. He tells me - that through the channel of A [Sherwood] he had to request me in - your name to repair to the shipping on Lake Champlain, to hold a - personal conference with his [your] excellency. But as the bearer - is now going to get out of my house to repair to his excellency, - and would have set out yesterday had not the intelligence of - the arrival of ... postponed it until to-day. I thought it - expedient to wait your excellency reconsidering the matter, - after discussing the peculiar situation of both the external and - internal policy of this state with the gentleman who will deliver - this to you, and shall have, by the time your excellency has been - acquainted with the state of the facts now existing, time to - bring about a further and more extended connection in favor of - the British interest which is now working at the general assembly - at Windsor, near the Connecticut River. The last refusal of - congress to admit this state into union has done more to awaken - the common people to a sense of that interest and resentment - of their conduct than all which they had done before. By their - own account, they declare that Vermont does not and shall not - belong to their confederacy. The consequence is, that they may - fight their own battles. It is liberty which they say they are - after, but will not extend it to Vermont. Therefore Vermont does - not belong either to the confederacy or the controversy, but are - a neutral republic. All the frontier towns are firm with these - gentlemen in the present administration of government, and, to - speak within bounds, they have a clear majority of the rank and - file in their favor. I am, etc. - - N. B.--If it should be your excellency's pleasure, after having - conversed with the gentleman who will deliver these lines, that - I should wait on your excellency at any part of Lake Champlain, - I will do it, except I should find that it would hazard my life - too much. There is a majority in congress, and a number of the - principal officers of the continental army continually planning - against me. I shall do everything in my power to render this - state a British province. - -Ira Allen, that shrewd politician, says of the letter: - - This we consider a political proceeding to prevent the British - forces from invading this State. - -Our reasons for believing Ethan Allen always a patriot are: - -First. His known faithfulness to the American cause in every case. - -Second. His hatred of the British and contemptuous rejection of -their proffers of honor and emoluments when in their power and in no -personal danger if he accepted them. - -Third. His natural obstinacy in clinging to a cause he had espoused. - -Fourth. The repeated efforts of the Vermont government, in which -Allen was engaged, to induce Congress to admit it to the Union -continued during the negotiation. - -Fifth. At Allen's request the truce offered by the British included -New York's eastern frontier, and Vermont promptly responded to all -calls upon her for help. - -Sixth. There is reason to believe that General Washington was -informed by General Allen, in advance of the Haldimand negotiations, -of their purpose. - -The state's peculiar frontier, threatened by Canada, unsupported by -the other states, disturbed by internal dissensions, unable to defend -herself by force, made it necessary to use strategy. No authority -was given the commissioners by the executive or by the legislature -to treat of anything but an exchange of prisoners. There is no -record that I can find that an effort was made at any time to induce -Vermonters at large to consider the subject of a British union. -Indeed, Governor Chittenden, in 1793, giving a list of those in the -secret, mentions only eight, although Ira Allen said, in 1781, that -more were added. - -It seems to me that Allen shows in this correspondence the talent of -a diplomat, a talent which our state needed in its formative period -to supplement the audacity of the hardy Green Mountain Boys. There -could be no question of disloyalty to the United States, because -Vermont had never belonged to them. He was intensely loyal to his own -state, for whose welfare he strove, and if Congress still refused to -admit her to the Union, there was no other resource than to ally her -with Great Britain in self-defence. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -ALLEN WITH GATES.--AT BENNINGTON.--DAVID REDDING.--REPLY TO -CLINTON.--EMBASSIES TO CONGRESS.--COMPLAINT AGAINST BROTHER -LEVI.--ALLEN IN COURT. - - -When Allen bade adieu to Washington at Valley Forge, he rode on -horseback to Fishkill with General Gates and suite, arriving at that -place on the 18th of May, 1778, the very day his brother Heman died -at Salisbury. The six or eight days occupied by the trip across New -Jersey seems to have been one of unalloyed enjoyment to the hero of -Ticonderoga. He tells us that Gates treated him with the generosity -of a lord and the freedom of a boon companion. That this intercourse -impressed Gates favorably with Allen his correspondence with General -Stark later demonstrates. On Sunday evening, the 31st of May, Allen -arrived at Bennington. The town being orthodox and Congregationalist, -Sunday is observed with Puritanic severity, but he finds the people -too jubilant for religious solemnity. The old iron six-pound cannon -from Fort Hoosac is brought out and fired in honor of the new state -of Vermont. - -What changes have taken place during his three years' absence! His -only son is dead; his wife and four daughters are in Sunderland; two -brothers have become state officers. Levi Allen, one of the foremost -Green Mountain Boys in 1775, has now become a tory. Burgoyne has -swept along the western borders and has been captured. Allen's old -followers, under Seth Warner, have won renown at Quebec, Montreal, -Hubbardston, Bennington, Saratoga, and Ticonderoga. The constitution -has been formed and the state government organized. A legislature has -been elected, held one session, and adjourned to meet again this week. - -One of the great spectacles of the Anglo-Saxon civilization had -been appointed for this time and place. A criminal, David Redding, -convicted of treason, was to be executed. Upon a petition for -rehearing on the ground that he had been convicted by a jury of only -six men, the governor had reprieved Redding until Thursday, the 11th. -The news of the reprieve, noised through the town, called together a -disappointed and angry crowd, in the midst of which Allen appeared, -mounted a stump, and cried: "Attention, the whole!" He then expressed -his sympathy with the people, explained the illegality of the trial, -and told them to go home and return in a week, and they "shall see -a man hung; if not Redding, I will be," and the appeased crowd -peaceably dispersed. In the next trial Allen was appointed state's -attorney to prosecute Redding, who was condemned. - -Soon Allen's attention is called to the controversy between New York -and Vermont. In the preceding February, after the constitution was -adopted, before the government was inaugurated, Governor Clinton, of -New York, issued a proclamation ostentatious with apparent clemency -and generosity. Ethan Allen was selected as the proper man to expose -the pompous fraud. Clinton began by saying that the disaffection -existing in Vermont was partially justified by the atrocious acts -of the British government while New York was a colony, the act of -outlawry which sentenced Allen and others to death without trial, the -fees and unjust preference in grants to servants of the crown over -honest settlers, and he offered to discharge all claims under the -outlawry act, to reduce the New York quit-rents to the New Hampshire -rate, to make the fees of patents reasonable, and to confirm all -grants made by New Hampshire and Massachusetts. - -Allen replied, in a pamphlet, that the British act of outlawry had -been dead by its own provision two and a half years, no thanks to -Clinton; that most of the grants of New Hampshire and Massachusetts -had been covered by New York patents, and that, as a matter of law, -it was impossible for New York to cancel her former patents and -confirm the New Hampshire grants, and he cited the opinion of the -lords of trade to that effect. - -But Vermont was in a dangerous position in reference to New -Hampshire. A portion of that state had seceded and united with -Vermont. The two states had fought side by side, but now New -Hampshire had become unfriendly and remained so for years. The -governor and council, perplexed with the difficulty, appointed Allen -an agent to visit Congress and ask for advice. This is his first -embassy from Vermont to Congress. He reported that "unless the union -with New Hampshire towns is dissolved the nation will annihilate -Vermont." - -His second embassy was with Jonas Fay, in 1779, to inform Congress of -the progress of affairs in Vermont. - -His third embassy was in 1780, when he was chosen by the legislature -as the chairman of a very able and eminent committee, Stephen R. -Bradley, Moses Robinson, Paul Spooner, and Jonas Fay, to act as -counsel for Vermont before Congress against the ablest men of New -York and New Hampshire. - -In 1779 he was sent to the Massachusetts court with a letter from the -governor asking for a statement of Massachusetts' claim to Vermont. -The reply was that Massachusetts claimed west from the Merrimac, and -three miles further north, to the Pacific. This included part of -Vermont. - -It is noteworthy that Allen was elected a member of the legislature -from Arlington while his family lived in Sunderland, and he -called Bennington his "usual home." It is notable, also, that the -constitution required every member of the legislature to take an -oath that he believed in the divine inspiration of the Bible and -professed the Protestant religion, an oath which Allen refused to -take, and yet was allowed to act as a member. - -It was in 1778 that Allen complained to the court of confiscation -that his brother Levi had become a tory; had passed counterfeit -Continental money; that under pretence of helping him while a -prisoner on Long Island, he had been detected in supplying the -British with provisions. He stated that Levi owned real estate in -Vermont and prayed that that estate might be confiscated to the -public treasury. For this act Levi afterward challenged Ethan to a -duel, but Ethan took no notice of the challenge. - -In the spring of 1779 the Yorkers in Windham County wrote to Governor -Clinton that unless New York aided them, "our persons and property -must be at the disposal of Ethan Allen; which is more to be dreaded -than death with all its terrors." - -In May the superior court sat at Westminster. Thirty-six Yorkers -were in jail. Their offence consisted in rescuing two cows from an -officer who had seized them because their owners had refused to do -military duty on the frontier or to pay for substitutes. Ethan Allen -was there by order of Governor Chittenden, with one hundred Green -Mountain Boys, to aid the court. Three prisoners were discharged -for want of evidence, three more because they were minors. Allen, -hearing of this, entered the court-room in his military dress, large -three-cornered hat profusely ornamented with gold lace, and a large -sword swinging by his side. Breathless with haste, he bowed to Chief -Justice Robinson and began attacking the attorneys. Robinson told -him the court would gladly listen to him as a citizen, but not as a -military man in a military dress. Allen threw his hat on the table -and unbuckled his sword, exclaiming: "For forms of government let -fools contest; whate'er is best administered is best." Observing -the judges whispering together, he said: "I said that fools might -contest, not your honors, not your honors." To the state's attorney, -Noah Smith, he said: "I would have the young gentleman know that -with my logic and reasoning from the eternal fitness of things, I -can upset his Blackstones, his whitestones, his gravestones, and his -brimstones." Then he continued: - - Fifty miles I have come through the woods with my brave men - to support the civil with the military arm, to quell any - disturbances should they arise, and to aid the sheriff and court - in prosecuting these Yorkers, the enemies of our noble State. I - see, however, that some of them, by the quirks of this artful - lawyer, Bradley, are escaping from the punishment they so richly - deserve, and I find also, that this little Noah Smith is far from - understanding his business, since he at one moment moves for a - prosecution and in the next wishes to withdraw it. Let me warn - your honors to be on your guard lest these delinquents should - slip through your fingers and thus escape the rewards so justly - due their crimes. - -Allen then put on his hat, buckled on his sword, and departed with -great dignity. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -ALLEN AT GUILFORD.--"ORACLES OF REASON."--JOHN STARK.--ST. JOHN DE -CRÈVECŒUR.--HONORS TO ALLEN.--SHAY'S REBELLION.--SECOND MARRIAGE. - - -In 1782 the rebellious York element in Windham County again called -Ethan to the field. In Guilford forty-six men ambushed and fired on -Allen's party in the evening. Allen, knowing the terror of his name, -entering Guilford on foot, uttered this proclamation: "I, Ethan -Allen, do declare that I will give no quarter to the man, woman, or -child who shall oppose me, and unless the inhabitants of Guilford -peacefully submit to the authority of Vermont, I swear that I will -lay it as desolate as Sodom and Gomorrah by God." - -In 1784 Allen published a book entitled "Reason, the Only Oracle -of Man: or, A Compendious System of Natural Religion." In this -book Allen endeavored to prove that the Bible was not inspired, -but he declared it a necessity that a future life of rewards and -punishments follow the good and evil of this life. His idea of the -Deity is expressed in these words: - - The knowledge of the being, perfections, creation and providence - of God and the immortality of our souls is the foundation of our - religion. - -This book contained 487 pages. Fifteen hundred copies were issued, -but most of them were destroyed by the burning of the printing -office. Allen wrote to a friend: - - In this book you read my very soul, for I have not concealed - my opinion. I expect that the clergy and their devotees will - proclaim war with me in the name of the Lord. - -Sometimes Allen is too profane to be repeated, sometimes too -frivolous for sacred subjects. Speaking of his prospects of being -hung in England, he said: - - As to the world of spirits, though I know nothing of the mode or - manner of it, I expected nevertheless, when I should arrive at - such a world, that I should be as well treated as other gentlemen - of my merit. - -Among the pleasant friends that Allen formed at this time was John -Stark. The hero of Ticonderoga had never met the hero of Bennington. -Three weeks after Allen's arrival in Bennington, Stark wrote to -him proposing an interview at Albany, where he was stationed as -brigadier-general in command of the northern department. He also -wrote to General Gates: - - I should be very glad to have Colonel Ethan Allen command in the - grants, as he is a very suitable man to deal with tories and such - like villains. - -Four days later Gates wrote Stark: - - I now inclose two letters, one to Colonel Ethan Allen and - one to Colonel Bedel ... it may not be amiss to take Colonel - Allen's opinion on the subject, with whom I wish you to open a - correspondence. - -Another pleasant episode in Allen's life was his association with -St. John de Crèvecœur, who was the French consul in New York for ten -years following the revolution. Sieur Crèvecœur married an American -Quakeress, bought a farm which he cleared, wrote a book in English -called "Letters from an American Farmer," and three volumes in French -about upper Pennsylvania and New York. He wrote to Ethan Allen -proposing to have the Vermont state seal engraved in silver by the -king's best engravers, asked for maps of the state, suggested naming -some towns after French statesmen who had befriended America. (St. -Johnsbury was named for Crèvecœur.) He asked Allen for copies of his -"Oracles of Reason" and also for some seeds. - -Instances multiply showing the prominence of Ethan Allen in the new -state. During Shay's rebellion in Massachusetts, before attempting to -seize the United States arsenal at Springfield, he sent two of his -principal officers to Ethan Allen offering to him the command of the -Massachusetts insurgents, representing one-third of the population -of that state. Allen rejected the offer with contempt and ordered -the messengers to leave the state. He also wrote to the governor of -Massachusetts and Colonel Benjamin Simmons, of western Massachusetts, -informing them of the efforts made in Vermont by malcontents from -that state, and that Vermont was exerting herself vigorously to -prevent the evil consequences of the insurgents' action, and -promising the most cordial co-operation in the future. - -The incidents of Allen's life and his writings are not published -in any one volume, but are scattered through ill-bound primers, are -found in fiction, in addresses, and in huge double-column tomes which -are not accessible to the people. - -The story of his second marriage gives a vivid picture of the -rough-and-ready audacious soldier. On the 9th of February, 1784, the -judges of the supreme court were at breakfast with lawyer Stephen R. -Bradley, of Westminster, when General Allen, in a sleigh with a span -of dashing black horses and a colored driver, drove up to the house. -Passing through the breakfast-room, he found in the next room the -spirited young widow of twenty-four summers, Mrs. Frances Buchanan, -who was living in the house with her mother, Mrs. Wall. Dressed in -her morning gown, Mrs. Buchanan was standing on a chair arranging -china and glass on some upper shelves. She amused her visitor with -some witticism about the broken decanter in her hands; a brief chat -ensued, then Allen said: "Fanny, if we are ever to be married, now is -the time, for I am on my way to Arlington." - -"Very well," she replied; "give me time to put on my josie." - -The couple passed into a third room, where the judges were smoking, -and Allen said: - -"Judge Robinson, this young woman and myself have concluded to marry -each other, and to have you perform the ceremony." - -"When?" - -"Now! For myself I have no great opinion of such formality, and from -what I can discover she thinks as little of it as I do. But as a -decent respect for the opinion of mankind seems to require it, you -will proceed." - -"General, this is an important matter, and have you given it serious -consideration?" - -"Certainly; but," here the general glanced proudly at his handsome -and accomplished bride, twenty-two years younger than himself, -perhaps also conscious of his own mature, stalwart symmetry, "I do -not think it requires much consideration in this particular case." - -"Do you promise to live with Frances agreeably to the law of God?" - -"Stop! stop!" cried Allen, looking out of the window. "Yes, according -to the law of God as written in the great book of Nature. Go on! go -on! my team is at the door." - -Soon the bride's guitar and trunk were in the sleigh and the bells -jingled merrily as they dashed westward. - -Before his second marriage John Norton, a tavern-keeper of -Westminster, said: - -"Fanny, if you marry General Allen you will be the queen of a new -state." - -"Yes," she replied, "and if I should marry the devil I would be queen -of hell." - -The children of the second marriage were three: one daughter who died -in a nunnery in Montreal, and two sons who became officers in the -United States Army and died at Norfolk, Va. Ethan Allen, of New York, -is a grandson of the second wife. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -DEATH.--CIVILIZATION IN ALLEN'S TIME.--ESTIMATES OF ALLEN.--RELIGIOUS -FEELING IN VERMONT.--MONUMENTS. - - -In 1787 Allen moved to Burlington, where, for the last two years -of his life, he devoted himself to farming. Through a partial -failure of the crops in 1789, Allen found himself short of hay in -the winter. Col. Ebenezer Allen, who lived in South Hero, an island -near Burlington, offered to supply Ethan what he needed if he would -come for it. Accordingly, with a team and man, Ethan crossed the -ice on the 10th of February. Col. Ebenezer Allen had invited some -neighbors, who were old friends and acquaintances, to meet his guest, -and the afternoon and evening were spent in telling stories. Ethan -was persuaded to stay over night and the next morning started for -home with his load of hay. During the journey his negro spoke to him -several times but received no reply. On reaching home he discovered -that his master was unconscious. He was carried into his house and -died from apoplexy in a few hours. - -To estimate properly Allen's force of character and large mind, we -should appreciate the crude civilization of the early pioneer days of -Vermont, when self-culture could only be procured by great qualities. -The population was about five thousand, chiefly on the east side -of the mountains. The bulk of the people lived in log houses with -earthen floors, and with windows made of oiled paper, isinglass, raw -hides, or sometimes 6 x 8 panes of glass. Smaller log houses were -used to protect domestic animals from wolves and bears, as well as -from the inclemency of the weather. It was the life of the frontier -in the wilderness, when the struggle for bare sustenance left little -time for the acquirement of knowledge, much less of accomplishments. - -Allen is not the best representative man of his time, but his -experience was so startling, his character so piquant, that a sketch -of him better photographs Vermont before her admission to the Union -than that of any other man. As a statesman he was infinitely inferior -to Chipman or Bradley; as a soldier, Seth Warner, although six -years younger, was his superior; Ira Allen was more capable and more -accomplished; Governor Chittenden was more discreet in the management -of state affairs. As a captive, absent from the state from 1775 to -1778, Allen had nothing to do with the adoption of the constitution -or the first organization of our state government; as a member -of the legislature he won no reputation. He lacked the scholarly -culture and polished suavity of the highest type of gentleman; he -was sometimes horribly profane. He delighted in battling with the -religious orthodoxy of New England; he wrote a book to disprove the -authenticity of the Bible; yet he was energetic in his expressions -of veneration for the being and perfection of the Deity, and a firm -believer in the immortality of the soul. Thoroughly familiar with the -history and law of the New York controversy, his telling exposure -of the subtle casuistry of the more learned New York lawyers; -his thorough sympathy with the settlers in all their trials and -amusements; his geniality, sociability, and aptness in story-telling; -his detestation of all dishonesty and meanness; his burning zeal -for American freedom; his adroit success, his bitter sufferings, -even his one unlucky rashness in attacking Montreal when deserted -by the very man who had induced him to undertake it; his numerous -writings--all combine to make him the most popular of our state -characters. - -Washington's masterly knowledge of human nature gives value to -his brief portrait of Allen. Immediately on being released from -captivity, Allen visited Washington at Valley Forge. Washington wrote -to Congress in regard to Allen. - - His fortitude and firmness seem to have placed him out of the - reach of misfortune. There is an original something about him - that commands admiration, and his long captivity and sufferings - have only served to increase, if possible, his enthusiastic zeal. - He appears very desirous of rendering his services to the states - and of being employed, and at the same time he does not discover - any ambition for high rank. - -Senator Edmunds says of Allen: "Ethan Allen was a man of gifts rather -than acquirements, although he was not by any means deficient in that -knowledge obtained from reading and from intercourse with men. But it -was the natural force of his character that made him eminent among -the worthiest who founded the republic, and pre-eminent among those -who founded the state of Vermont." - -Col. John A. Graham, who knew Allen well the last two or three years -of his life, published a book in England a few years after Allen's -death and therein says: "Ethan Allen was a man of extraordinary -character. He possessed great talents but was deficient in education. -In all his dealings he possessed the strictest sense of honor, -integrity, and uprightness." - -The Hon. Daniel P. Thompson attributes to him "wisdom, aptitude to -command, ability to inspire respect and confidence, a high sense of -honor, generosity, and kindness." - -Jared Sparks calls him "brave, generous, consistent, true to his -friends, true to his country, seeking at all times to promote the -best interests of mankind." - -Governor Hiland Hall says: "He acquired much information by reading -and observation. His knowledge of the political situation of the -state and country was general and accurate. As a writer, he was -ready, clear, and forcible. His style attracted and fixed attention -and inspired confidence in his sincerity and justice." - -John Jay speaks of his writings as having "wit, quaintness, and -impudence." - -In financial skill Ethan was inferior to his brother Ira; as a -soldier he lacked the cool judgment of Seth Warner; in administrative -ability he had neither the tact nor success of Governor Chittenden; -as a statesman he was destitute of the learning and ability of -Chipman and Bradley; but as a patriot and friend he was true as a -star. No money, no office, could bribe; no insults, no suffering, -tame him. As a boon companion he was rollicking and popular. Many are -the stories told of his hearty good-will toward all. One instance -will show his power to attach the common people to him: Finding a -woman in Tinmouth dreading to have a painful tooth drawn, in order to -encourage her he sat down and had one of his perfectly sound teeth -extracted. - -In religion, like Horace Greeley, Allen had reverence for the Deity -but none for the Bible. In this he was not alone, for Vermont, in -the later eighteenth century, presented a curious mixture of the -strictest adherence to the letter of the religious law and absolute -free-thinking. - -The Universalists in 1785 held their first American convention in -Massachusetts. When this doctrine was first introduced into Vermont, -John Norton, the Westminster tavern-keeper, said to Ethan Allen: -"That religion will suit you, will it not, General Allen?" - -Allen, who knew Norton to be a secret tory, replied in utter scorn: -"No! no! for there must be a hell in the other world for the -punishment of tories." - -President Dwight said: "Many of the influential early Vermonters -were professed infidels or Universalists, or persons of equally -loose principles and morals." Judge Robert R. Livingston wrote Dr. -Franklin: "The bulk of Vermonters are New England Presbyterian -whigs." Daniel Chipman says: "Great numbers of the early settlers -were of the set of New-lights or Separates, who fled from persecution -in the New England States and found religious liberty here." - -Before Allen took Ticonderoga, Vermont had eleven Congregational -and four Baptist churches. For a quarter of a century (1783-1807) -towns and parishes could assess taxes for churches and ministers. -At the very threshold of Vermont's existence the laws had a -Puritanic severity. "High-handed blasphemy" was punished with death; -while fines or the stocks were the rewards of profane swearing, -drunkenness, unseasonable night-walking, disturbing Sabbath worship, -travelling Sunday, gaming, horse-racing, confirmed tavern-haunting, -mischievous lying, and even meeting in company Saturday or Sunday -evenings except in religious meetings. "No person shall drive a team -or droves of any kind, or travel on the Lord's day (except it be on -business that concerns the present war, or by some adversity they are -belated and forced to lodge in the woods, wilderness, or highways the -night before)," then only to next shelter. The wife of the Rev. Sam. -Williams was arrested in New Hampshire for travelling on Sunday. No -Jew, Roman Catholic, atheist, or deist could take the oath required -of a member of the legislature; for that oath professed belief -in the Deity, the divine inspiration of both Testaments, and the -Protestant religion. The Rev. Samuel Peters, LL.D., sometimes called -Bishop Peters, tells us the Munchausen story that he baptized into -the Church of England 1,200 adults and children amid the forests of -Vermont. In 1790 Vermont was enough of a diocese to hold a convention -of eight parishes and two rectors. - -Bennington was the early nucleus of Vermont colonization. Samuel -Robinson, of that town, had land to sell both in Bennington and the -adjoining town of Shaftsbury. It is said he entertained over night -the new immigrants; if Baptists, he sold them land in Shaftsbury; if -Congregationalists, he sold them land in Bennington. - -What visible tokens have we of Vermont's pride in this hero, to whom -she is so much indebted for her existence as a state? - -The earliest statue of Ethan Allen was by Benjamin Harris Kinney, a -native of Sunderland. It was modelled in Burlington and exhibited -there in 1852. The Rev. Zadoc Thompson said of it: "All who have long -and carefully examined his statue will admit that the artist, Mr. -Kinney, our respected townsman, has embodied and presented to the eye -the ideal in a most masterly manner." The Hon. David Read says: "The -statue was examined by several aged people who had personally known -Allen, and all pronounce it an excellent likeness of him." Henry de -Puy has an engraving of this statue in his book about Allen in 1853. -This statue has never been purchased from Mr. Kinney, and it is still -in his possession. - -The two statues of Allen made for the state are the work of Larkin -G. Mead, a native of Chesterfield, N. H., reared and educated in -Brattleboro. One of them, at the entrance of the state-house in -Montpelier, is of Rutland marble. The other one, in the Capitol at -Washington, is of Italian marble. - -The fourth statue was unveiled at Burlington, the 4th of July, 1873. -It was made at Carrara, Italy, after a design by Peter Stephenson, of -Boston. It is 8 ft. 4 in. high, stands on a granite shaft 42 ft. in -height, in Green Mountain Cemetery, on the banks of the Winooski. - - - "_Siste viator! Heroa calcas!_" - - - - -FOOTNOTE: - -[1] This letter, like others, is given verbatim, despite -some evident errors of phraseology. - - - - -_D. APPLETON & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS._ - - -_New revised edition of Bancroft's History of the United States._ - - =HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES=, from the Discovery of the - Continent to the Establishment of the Constitution in 1789. By - GEORGE BANCROFT. Complete in 6 vols., 8vo, printed from new type. - Cloth (blue or brown), uncut, with gilt top, $15.00; sheep, - marble edge, $21.00; half morocco, uncut, gilt top, $27.00; - half grained morocco, gilt top, $27.00; half calf, marble edge, - $27.00. Vol. VI contains the History of the Formation of the - Constitution of the United States, and a Portrait of Mr. Bancroft. - -In this edition of his great work the author has made extensive -changes in the text, condensing in places, enlarging in others, -and carefully revising. It is practically a new work embodying the -results of the latest researches, and enjoying the advantage of the -author's long and mature experience. - -"On comparing this work with the corresponding volume of the -'Centenary' edition of 1876, one is surprised to see how extensive -changes the author has found desirable, even after so short an -interval. The first thing that strikes one is the increased number of -chapters, resulting from subdivision. The first volume contains two -volumes of the original, and is divided into thirty-eight chapters -instead of eighteen. This is in itself an improvement. But the new -arrangement is not the result merely of subdivision; the matter is -rearranged in such a manner as vastly to increase the lucidity and -continuousness of treatment. In the present edition Mr. Bancroft -returns to the principle of division into periods, abandoned in -the 'Centenary' edition. His division is, however, a new one. As -the permanent shape taken by a great historical work, this new -arrangement is certainly an improvement."--_The Nation_ (_New York_). - -"The work as a whole is in better shape, and is of course more -authoritative than ever before. This last revision will be without -doubt, both from its desirable form and accurate text, the standard -one."--_Boston Traveller._ - -"It has not been granted to many historians to devote half a century -to the history of a single people, and to live long enough, and, let -us add, to be willing and wise enough, to revise and rewrite in an -honored old age the work of a whole lifetime."--_New York Mail and -Express._ - -"The extent and thoroughness of this revision would hardly be guessed -without comparing the editions side by side. The condensation of the -text amounts to something over one third of the previous edition. -There has also been very considerable recasting of the text. On the -whole, our examination of the first volume leads us to believe that -the thought of the historian loses nothing by the abbreviation of -the text. A closer and later approximation to the best results of -scholarship and criticism is reached. The public gains by its more -compact brevity and in amount of matter, and in economy of time and -money."--_The Independent_ (_New York_). - -"There is nothing to be said at this day of the value of 'Bancroft.' -Its authority is no longer in dispute, and as a piece of vivid and -realistic historical writing it stands among the best works of its -class. It may be taken for granted that this new edition will greatly -extend its usefulness."--_Philadelphia North American._ - - - - -BIOGRAPHY. - - - =THE LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE=, INVENTOR OF THE RECORDING - TELEGRAPH. By S. I. PRIME. Illustrated with Steel Plates and Wood - Engravings. 8vo. Cloth, $5.00; sheep, $6.00; half morocco, $7.50; - morocco, $10.00. - - =LIFE OF EMMA WILLARD.= By JOHN LORD, LL. D. With two Portraits - on Steel. 12mo. Cloth, $2.00. - - =RECOLLECTIONS AND OPINIONS OF AN OLD PIONEER.= By P. H. BURNETT, - First Governor of the State of California. 12mo. Cloth, $1.75. - -Mr. Burnett's life has been full of varied experience, and the record -takes the reader back prior to the discovery of gold in California, -and leads him through many adventures and incidents to the time of -the beginning of the late war. - -"I have been a pioneer most of my life; whenever, since my arrival in -California, I have seen a party of immigrants, with their ox-teams -and white-sheeted wagons, I have been excited, have felt younger, and -was for the moment anxious to make another trip."--_The Author._ - - =LIFE OF JOHN RANDOLPH, OF ROANOKE.= By HUGH H. GARLAND. - Portraits. Two volumes in one. 8vo. Cloth, $2.00. - - =ELIHU BURRITT=: A MEMORIAL VOLUME, CONTAINING A SKETCH OF HIS - LIFE AND LABORS. With Selections from his Writings and Lectures, - and Extracts from his Private Journals in Europe and America. - Edited by CHARLES NORTHEND, A. M. 12mo. Cloth, $1.75. - - =THE LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF DR. LEWIS F. LINN.= FOR TEN - YEARS A SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES FROM THE STATE OF MISSOURI. - By E. A. LINN and N. SARGENT. With Portrait. 8vo. Cloth, $2.00. - - =OUTLINE OF THE PUBLIC LIFE AND SERVICES OF THOMAS F. BAYARD=, - SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE, - 1869-1880. With Extracts from his Speeches and the Debates of - Congress. By EDWARD SPENCER. 12mo. Paper, 50 cents; cloth, $1.00. - - =THE LAST YEARS OF DANIEL WEBSTER.= A MONOGRAPH. By GEORGE T. - CURTIS. 8vo. Paper, 50 cents. - - =REPRESENTATIVE NAMES IN ENGLISH LITERATURE.= By H. H. MORGAN. - 8vo. Cloth, $1.00. - - =THE NOVELS AND NOVELISTS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY=, IN - ILLUSTRATION OF THE MANNERS AND MORALS OF THE AGE. By W. FORSYTH. - 12mo. Cloth, $1.50. - - =LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF SALMON PORTLAND CHASE.= By J. W. - SCHUCKERS. Illustrated. 8vo. Cloth, $5.00; sheep, $6.00; half - morocco, $7.50. - - =MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN.= New edition, revised, and - with Additions. With numerous Maps and Portraits. 2 vols., 8vo. - Cloth, $5.00. - -This edition of General Sherman's memoirs has been thoroughly -revised, and contains two new chapters and important appendices. -Fifteen maps and several portraits, not given in the first edition, -enrich the present issue. The portraits consist of engravings on -steel of Generals Sherman, Thomas, Schofield, and McPherson, and -a phototype group of corps commanders. The new chapter at the end -of the work, entitled "After the War," throws light on recent -controversies in regard to President Johnson's purpose in wishing to -send General Grant to Mexico. The appendices contain numerous letters -from army commanders bearing upon events of the war. - - =THE LIFE OF DAVID GLASGOW FARRAGUT=, FIRST ADMIRAL OF THE UNITED - STATES NAVY, EMBODYING HIS JOURNAL AND LETTERS. By his Son, - LOYALL FARRAGUT. With Portraits, Maps, and Illustrations. 8vo. - Cloth, $4.00; sheep, $5.00; half morocco, $6.00. - -"The book is a stirring one, of course; the story of Farragut's -life is a tale of adventure of the most ravishing sort, so that, -aside from the value of this work as an authentic biography of the -greatest of American naval commanders, the book is one of surpassing -interest, considered merely as a narrative of difficult and dangerous -enterprises and heroic achievements."--_New York Evening Post._ - - =FARTHEST NORTH=; OR, THE LIFE AND EXPLORATIONS OF LIEUTENANT - JAMES BOOTH LOCKWOOD, OF THE GREELY ARCTIC EXPEDITION. With - Portrait, Map, and Illustrations. By CHARLES LANMAN. Small 12mo. - Cloth, $1.25. - - - - - _THE REAR-GUARD OF THE REVOLUTION._ By JAMES R. GILMORE (Edmund - Kirke). With Portrait of John Sevier, and Map. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50. - -"The Rear-Guard of the Revolution" is a narrative of the adventures -of the pioneers that first crossed the Alleghanies and settled in -what is now Tennessee, under the leadership of two remarkable men, -James Robertson and John Sevier. The title of the book is derived -from the fact that a body of hardy volunteers, under the leadership -of Sevier, crossed the mountains, and by their timely arrival secured -the defeat of the British army at King's Mountain. - - _JOHN SEVIER AS A COMMONWEALTH-BUILDER._ A Sequel to "The - Rear-Guard of the Revolution." By JAMES R. GILMORE (Edmund - Kirke). 12mo. Cloth, $1.50. - -John Sevier was among the pioneers who settled the region in Eastern -Tennessee. He was the founder of the State of Franklin, which -afterward became Tennessee, and was the first Governor of the State. -His innumerable battles with the Indians, his remarkable exploits, -his address and genius for leadership, render his career one of the -most thrilling and interesting on record. - - _THE ADVANCE-GUARD OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION._ By JAMES R. GILMORE - (Edmund Kirke). With Map, and Portrait of James Robertson. 12mo. - Cloth, $1.50. - -This work is in a measure a continuation of the thrilling story told -by the author in his two preceding volumes, "The Rear-Guard of the -Revolution" and "John Sevier as a Commonwealth-Builder." The three -volumes together cover, says the author in his preface, "a neglected -period of American history, and they disclose facts well worthy -the attention of historians--namely, that these Western men turned -the tide of the American Revolution, and subsequently saved the -newly-formed Union from disruption, and thereby made possible our -present great republic." - - _THE TWO SPIES: Nathan Hale and John André._ By BENSON J. - LOSSING, LL. D. Illustrated with Pen-and-ink Sketches. Containing - also Anna Seward's "Monody on Major André." Square 8vo. Cloth, - gilt top, $2.00. - -Illustrated by nearly thirty engravings of portraits, buildings, -sketches by André, etc. Contains also the full text and original -notes of the famous "Monody on Major André," written by his friend -Anna Seward, with a portrait and biographical sketch of Miss Seward, -and letters to her by Major André. - - - - -[Illustration: JOHN BACH MCMASTER.] - - _HISTORY OF THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES_, from the Revolution - to the Civil War. By JOHN BACH MCMASTER. To be completed in five - volumes. Vols. I, II, and III now ready. 8vo, cloth, gilt top, - $2.50 each. - - -In the course of this narrative much is written of wars, -conspiracies, and rebellions; of Presidents, of Congresses, of -embassies, of treaties, of the ambition of political leaders, and -of the rise of great parties in the nation. Yet the history of the -people is the chief theme. At every stage of the splendid progress -which separates the America of Washington and Adams from the America -in which we live, it has been the author's purpose to describe the -dress, the occupations, the amusements, the literary canons of the -times; to note the changes of manners and morals; to trace the -growth of that humane spirit which abolished punishment for debt, -and reformed the discipline of prisons and of jails; to recount the -manifold improvements which, in a thousand ways, have multiplied the -conveniences of life and ministered to the happiness of our race; -to describe the rise and progress of that long series of mechanical -inventions and discoveries which is now the admiration of the world, -and our just pride and boast; to tell how, under the benign influence -of liberty and peace, there sprang up, in the course of a single -century, a prosperity unparalleled in the annals of human affairs. - - "The pledge given by Mr. McMaster, that 'the history of - the people shall be the chief theme,' is punctiliously and - satisfactorily fulfilled. He carries out his promise in a - complete, vivid, and delightful way. We should add that the - literary execution of the work is worthy of the indefatigable - industry and unceasing vigilance with which the stores of - historical material have been accumulated, weighed, and sifted. - The cardinal qualities of style, lucidity, animation, and - energy, are everywhere present. Seldom indeed has a book in - which matter of substantial value has been so happily united to - attractiveness of form been offered by an American author to his - fellow-citizens."--_New York Sun._ - - "To recount the marvelous progress of the American people, to - describe their life, their literature, their occupations, their - amusements, is Mr. McMaster's object. His theme is an important - one, and we congratulate him on his success. It has rarely been - our province to notice a book with so many excellences and so few - defects."--_New York Herald._ - - "Mr. McMaster at once shows his grasp of the various themes and - his special capacity as a historian of the people. His aim is - high, but he hits the mark."--_New York Journal of Commerce._ - - "... The author's pages abound, too, with illustrations of the - best kind of historical work, that of unearthing hidden sources - of information and employing them, not after the modern style of - historical writing, in a mere report, but with the true artistic - method, in a well-digested narrative.... If Mr. McMaster finishes - his work in the spirit and with the thoroughness and skill with - which it has begun, it will take its place among the classics of - American literature."--_Christian Union._ - - - - -[Illustration: COLONIAL COURT-HOUSE. PHILADELPHIA, 1707.] - - "This work marks an epoch in the history-writing of this - country."--_St. Louis Post-Dispatch._ - - _THE HOUSEHOLD HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES AND ITS PEOPLE._ FOR - YOUNG AMERICANS. By EDWARD EGGLESTON. Richly illustrated with 350 - Drawings, 75 Maps, etc. Square 8vo. Cloth, $2.50. - - -_FROM THE PREFACE._ - -The present work is meant, in the first instance, for the young--not -alone for boys and girls, but for young men and women who have yet to -make themselves familiar with the more important features of their -country's history. By a book for the young is meant one in which -the author studies to make his statements clear and explicit, in -which curious and picturesque details are inserted, and in which the -writer does not neglect such anecdotes as lend the charm of a human -and personal interest to the broader facts of the nation's story. -That history is often tiresome to the young is not so much the fault -of history as of a false method of writing by which one contrives -to relate events without sympathy or imagination, without narrative -connection or animation. The attempt to master vague and general -records of kiln-dried facts is certain to beget in the ordinary -reader a repulsion from the study of history--one of the very most -important of all studies for its widening influence on general -culture. - -[Illustration: INDIAN'S TRAP.] - - "Fills a decided gap which has existed for the past twenty years - in American historical literature. The work is admirably planned - and executed, and will at once take its place as a standard - record of the life, growth, and development of the nation. It is - profusely and beautifully illustrated."--_Boston Transcript._ - -[Illustration: GENERAL PUTNAM.] - - "The book in its new dress makes a much finer appearance than - before, and will be welcomed by older readers as gladly as - its predecessor was greeted by girls and boys. The lavish use - the publishers have made of colored plates, woodcuts, and - photographic reproductions, gives an unwonted piquancy to the - printed page, catching the eye as surely as the text engages the - mind."--_New York Critic._ - - "The author writes history as a story. It can never be less - than that. The book will enlist the interest of young people, - enlighten their understanding, and by the glow of its statements - fix the great events of the country firmly in the mind."--_San - Francisco Bulletin._ - - - - - _APPLETONS' CYCLOPÆDIA OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY._ Complete in - six volumes, royal 8vo, containing about 800 pages each. With - sixty-one fine steel portraits and some two thousand smaller - vignette portraits and views of birthplaces, residences, statues, - etc. - - -APPLETONS' CYCLOPÆDIA OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY, edited by General JAMES -GRANT WILSON, President of the New York Genealogical and Biographical -Society, and Professor JOHN FISKE, formerly of Harvard University, -assisted by over two hundred special contributors, contains a -biographical sketch of every person eminent in American civil and -military history, in law and politics, in divinity, in literature and -art, in science and in invention. Its plan embraces all the countries -of North and South America, and includes distinguished persons -born abroad, but related to American history. As events are always -connected with persons, it affords a complete compendium of American -history in every branch of human achievement. An exhaustive topical -and analytical Index enables the reader to follow the history of any -subject with great readiness. - - "It is the most complete volume that exists on the subject. The - tone and guiding spirit of the book are certainly very fair, and - show a mind bent on a discriminate, just, and proper treatment of - its subject."--_From the_ Hon. GEORGE BANCROFT. - - "The portraits are remarkably good. To anyone interested - in American history or literature, the Cyclopædia will be - indispensable."--_From the_ Hon. JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. - - "The selection of names seems to be liberal and just. The - portraits, so far as I can judge, are faithful, and the - biographies trustworthy."--_From_ NOAH PORTER, D. D., LL. D., - _ex-President of Yale College_. - - "A most valuable and interesting work."--_From the_ Hon. WM. E. - GLADSTONE. - - "I have examined it with great interest and great gratification. - It is a noble work, and does enviable credit to its editors and - publishers."--_From the_ Hon. ROBERT C. WINTHROP. - - "I have carefully examined 'Appletons' Cyclopædia of American - Biography,' and do not hesitate to commend it to favor. It is - admirably adapted to use in the family and the schools, and is so - cheap as to come within the reach of all classes of readers and - students."--_From_ J. B. FORAKER, _ex-Governor of Ohio_. - - "This book of American biography has come to me with a most - unusual charm. It sets before us the faces of great Americans, - both men and women, and gives us a perspective view of their - lives. Where so many noble and great have lived and wrought, one - is encouraged to believe the soil from which they sprang, the air - they breathed, and the sky over their heads, to be the best this - world affords, and one says, 'Thank God, I also am an American!' - We have many books of biography, but I have seen none so ample, - so clear-cut, and breathing so strongly the best spirit of our - native land. No young man or woman can fail to find among these - ample pages some model worthy of imitation."--_From_ FRANCES E. - WILLARD, _President N. W. C. T. U._ - - "I congratulate you on the beauty of the volume, and the - thoroughness of the work."--_From the_ Rev. PHILLIPS BROOKS, D. D. - - "Every day's use of this admirable work confirms me in regard - to its comprehensiveness and accuracy."--_From_ CHARLES DUDLEY - WARNER. - - -_Price, per volume, cloth or buckram, $5.00; sheep, $6.00; half -calf or half morocco, $7.00. Sold only by subscription. Descriptive -circular, with specimen pages, sent on application. Agents wanted for -districts not yet assigned._ - - - - -THE - -HISTORICAL REFERENCE-BOOK, - -COMPRISING: - -_A Chronological Table of Universal History, a Chronological -Dictionary of Universal History, a Biographical Dictionary_. - -=WITH GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES.= - -FOR THE USE OF STUDENTS, TEACHERS, AND READERS. - -=_By LOUIS HEILPRIN._= - -=New edition. Crown 8vo. Half leather, $3.00.= - - - "A second revised edition of Mr. Louis Heilprin's 'Historical - Reference-Book' has just appeared, marking the well-earned - success of this admirable work--a dictionary of dates, a - dictionary of events (with a special gazetteer for the places - mentioned), and a concise biographical dictionary, all in one, - and all in the highest degree trustworthy. Mr. Heilprin's - revision is as thorough as his original work. Any one can test it - by running over the list of persons deceased since this manual - first appeared. Corrections, too, have been made, as we can - testify in one instance at least."--_New York Evening Post._ - - "One of the most complete, compact, and valuable works of - reference yet produced."--_Troy Daily Times._ - - "Unequaled in its field."--_Boston Courier._ - - "A small library in itself."--_Chicago Dial._ - - "An invaluable book of reference, useful alike to the student and - the general reader. The arrangement could scarcely be better or - more convenient."--_New York Herald._ - - "The conspectus of the world's history presented in the first - part of the book is as full as the wisest terseness could put - within the space."--_Philadelphia American._ - - "We miss hardly anything that we should consider desirable, - and we have not been able to detect a single mistake or - misprint."--_New York Nation._ - - "So far as we have tested the accuracy of the present work we - have found it without flaw."--_Christian Union._ - - "The conspicuous merits of the work are condensation and - accuracy. These points alone should suffice to give the - 'Historical Reference-Book' a place in every public and private - library."--_Boston Beacon._ - - "The method of the tabulation is admirable for ready - reference."--_New York Home Journal._ - - "This cyclopædia of condensed knowledge is a work that will - speedily become a necessity to the general reader, as well as to - the student."--_Detroit Free Press._ - - "For clearness, correctness, and the readiness with which the - reader can find the Information of which he is in search, the - volume is far in advance of any work of its kind with which we - are acquainted."--_Boston Saturday Evening Gazette._ - - "The latest dates have been given. _The geographical notes - which accompany the historical incidents are a novel addition, - and exceedingly helpful._ The size also commends it, making it - convenient for constant reference, while the three divisions and - careful elimination of minor and uninteresting incidents make - it much easier to find dates and events about which accuracy is - necessary. Sir William Hamilton avers that too retentive a memory - tends to hinder the development of the judgment by presenting too - much for decision. A work like this is thus better than memory. - It is a 'mental larder' which needs no care, and whose contents - are ever available."--_New York University Quarterly._ - - - New York: D. APPLETON & CO., 1, 3, & 5 Bond Street. - - - - - TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE - - Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. - Bold text is denoted by =equal signs=. - - Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been - corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within - the text and consultation of external sources. - - Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, - and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained. For example, - imputedly; predestinated; mimicing; enkindled; turkies; land-jobbers, - land jobbers. - - Pg 9, '"History of "Vermont,' replaced by '"History of Vermont",'. - Pg 19, 'origial' replaced by 'original'. - Pg 133, 'thy' replaced by 'they'. - Pg 140, 'aleak' replaced by 'a leak'. - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Ethan Allen, by Henry Hall - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ETHAN ALLEN *** - -***** This file should be named 50929-0.txt or 50929-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/9/2/50929/ - -Produced by David Edwards, John Campbell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you - are located before using this ebook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - diff --git a/old/50929-0.zip b/old/50929-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 5db73c6..0000000 --- a/old/50929-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50929-h.zip b/old/50929-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 2ec0014..0000000 --- a/old/50929-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50929-h/50929-h.htm b/old/50929-h/50929-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 42bd68f..0000000 --- a/old/50929-h/50929-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7781 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Ethan Allen The Robin Hood of Vermont, by Henry Hall. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; - margin-top: 1.5em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0.1em; - letter-spacing: 0.1em; - line-height: .8em; - font-weight: normal; -} - - h2 {font-size: 100%;} - -p { - margin-top: .5em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .3em; - text-indent: 1em; -} - -.p1 {margin-top: 1em;} -.p2 {margin-top: 2em;} -.p6 {margin-top: 6em;} - -.negin2 {padding-left: 1.5em; text-indent: -1.5em; text-align: justify;} -.negin1 {padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em; text-align: justify;} - -.noindent {text-indent: 0em;} - -.pfs240 {font-size: 240%; text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; word-spacing: 0.3em;} -.pfs180 {font-size: 180%; text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; word-spacing: 0.3em;} -.pfs120 {font-size: 120%; text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; word-spacing: 0.3em;} -.pfs100 {font-size: 100%; text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; word-spacing: 0.3em;} -.pfs90 {font-size: 90%; text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; word-spacing: 0.3em;} -.pfs80 {font-size: 80%; text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; word-spacing: 0.3em;} -.pfs70 {font-size: 70%; text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; word-spacing: 0.3em; - line-height: 2em; word-spacing: .5em;} - - -.xxs {font-size: xx-small;} -.xs {font-size: x-small;} -.small {font-size: small;} -.medium {font-size: medium;} -.xxl {font-size: xx-large;} - -.fs70 {font-size: 70%; font-style: normal;} -.fs80 {font-size: 80%; font-style: normal;} -.fvnormal {font-variant: normal;} -.bold {font-weight: bold;} - -.chapter {page-break-before: always; page-break-inside: avoid; margin-top: 2em;} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - - hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} - hr.full {width: 95%; margin-left: 2.5%; margin-right: 2.5%;} - hr.fulla {width: 95%; margin-left: 2.5%; margin-right: 2.5%; - margin-top: 0em; margin-bottom: 0em;} - - hr.r15 {width: 15%; margin-left: 42.5%; margin-right: 42.5%;} - hr.r15a {width: 15%; margin-left: 42.5%; margin-right: 42.5%; - margin-top: 0em; margin-bottom: 0em;} - -@media handheld -{ - hr { - width: 0%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - clear: both; - } - - hr.chap {width: 0%;} - hr.full {width: 0%;} - hr.fulla {width: 0%;} - - hr.r15 {width: 0%; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;} - hr.r15a {width: 0%; margin-top: 0em; margin-bottom: 0em;} -} - -.corr { - text-decoration: none; - border-bottom: thin dotted blue; - } - -@media handheld { - .corr { - text-decoration: none; - border-bottom: none; - } -} - -table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} - -td {padding: .18em .3em 0 .3em;} - -.tdl {text-align: left; padding-left: 1.5em; text-indent: -1em;} -.tdr {text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;} -.tdc {text-align: center; padding-top: 1em;} - -.tdlx {text-align: left; padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em; vertical-align: top;} -.tdly {text-align: left; padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: top;} - -.pad2 {padding-left: 2em;} -.pad4 {padding-left: 4em;} -.pad16 {padding-left: 16em;} - -.padr2 {padding-right: 2em;} -.padr4 {padding-right: 4em;} -.padr6 {padding-right: 6em;} - -.mmx3 {margin-top: -2.7em;} -.mmx1 {margin-top: -1.4em;} - -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - color: #A9A9A9; - left: 90%; - font-size: smaller; - font-weight: normal; - font-style: normal; - text-align: right; - text-indent: 1em; -} - - -.blockquot { - margin-left: 5%; - margin-right: 5%; - margin-top: 1.3em; - margin-bottom: 1.3em; - font-size: 93%; -} - -.center {text-align: center; text-indent: 0em;} -.left {text-align: left;} -.right {text-align: right; margin-right: 1em;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.wsp {word-spacing: 0.3em;} -.lsp {letter-spacing: 0.15em;} -.lht {line-height: 1.5em;} -.lhtx {line-height: 1em;} - - -.caption {font-weight: normal; - padding-bottom: 0.50em;} - -.captionx {font-weight: normal; font-size: 60%; word-spacing: .3em;} - -.antiqua {font-family: Diploma, England, Gothic, serif;} - - -.pg-brk {page-break-before: always;} -.no-brk {page-break-before: avoid;} - -/* for non-image large letter dropcaps */ -p.drop-capx {text-indent: 0em; margin-top: 1em;} - -p.drop-capx:first-letter -{ - float: left; - margin: 0.1em 0.1em 1em 0em; - font-size: 250%; - line-height: 1em; -} - -@media handheld -{ - p.drop-capx:first-letter - { - float: none; - margin: 0; - font-size: 100%; - } -} - -/* Images */ -img {border: none; max-width: 100%} - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - padding-top: 1em; - padding-bottom: 1em; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; -} - -.figleft { - float: left; - clear: left; - margin-left: 0; - margin-bottom: .5em; - margin-top: 1em; - margin-right: 1em; - padding: 0; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; -} - -.figright { - float: right; - clear: right; - margin-left: 1em; - margin-bottom: .5em; - margin-top: 1em; - margin-right: 0; - padding: 0; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; -} - -/* Footnotes */ -.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 90%;} -.footnote p {text-indent: 0em;} -.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} - -.fnanchor { - vertical-align: super; - font-size: .8em; - text-decoration: - none; -} - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote { - background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:90%; - padding:0.5em; - margin-top:5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; -} - -.transnote p {text-indent: 0em;} - -.customcover {visibility: hidden; display: none;} -@media handheld { -.customcover {visibility: visible; display: block;} -} - - </style> - </head> - -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Ethan Allen, by Henry Hall - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Ethan Allen - The Robin Hood of Vermont - -Author: Henry Hall - -Release Date: January 15, 2016 [EBook #50929] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ETHAN ALLEN *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, John Campbell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - - -<div class="transnote"> -<p><strong>TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE</strong></p> - -<p>Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been -corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within -the text and consultation of external sources.</p> - -<p class="customcover">The cover image was created by the transcriber -and is placed in the public domain.</p> - -<p>More detail can be found at <a href="#TN">the end of the book.</a></p> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap pg-brk" /> -<h1> -<span class="xxl">ETHAN ALLEN</span><br /><br /> -<span class="antiqua medium">The Robin Hood of Vermont</span></h1> - -<p class="p6" /> -<p class="pfs80">BY</p> -<p class="pfs100 lsp wsp">HENRY HALL</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 250px;"> -<img src="images/titlepage.jpg" width="250" height="250" alt="" /> -<div class="caption xs">RUINS OF TICONDEROGA</div> -</div> - -<p class="p2" /> -<p class="pfs90 lsp wsp">NEW YORK<br /> -D. APPLETON AND COMPANY<br /> -1892</p> - - -<hr class="chap pg-brk" /> -<p class="p6" /> - -<p class="pfs80 wsp"> -<span class="smcap">Copyright, 1892,<br /> -By</span> D. APPLETON AND COMPANY.</p> -<p class="p6" /> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE">PREFACE.</a></h2> - - -<p>At the time of the death of Mr. Henry Hall, -in 1889, the manuscript for this volume consisted -of finished fragments and many notes. -It was left in the hands of his daughters to -complete. The purpose of the author was to -make a fuller life of Allen than has been written, -and singling him from that cluster of -sturdy patriots in the New Hampshire Grants, -to make plain the vivid personality of a Vermont -hero to the younger generations. Mr. -Hall's well-known habit of accuracy and painstaking -investigation must be the guaranty that -this "Life" is worthy of a place among the volumes -of the history of our nation.</p> - -<p class="right smcap">Henrietta Hall Boardman.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p> - - <div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS.</a></h2> - -<hr class="r15a" /> -<div class="center smcap"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="95%" summary=""> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER I.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx"></td><td class="tdlx xxs">PAGE</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">An Account of Allen's Family,</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER II.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">Early Life, Habits of Thought, and Religious Tendencies,</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_12">12</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER III.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">Removal to Vermont.—The New Hampshire Grants,</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_22">22</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER IV.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">Allen and the Green Mountain Boys.—Negotiations Between New York and the New Hampshire Grants,</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2"><span class="pagenum fvnormal"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[vi]</a></span>CHAPTER V.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">The Raid upon Colonel Reid's Settlers.—Allen's Outlawry.—Crean Brush.—Philip Skene,</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_46">46</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER VI.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">Preparations to Capture Ticonderoga.—Diary of Edward Mott.—Expeditions Planned.—Benedict Arnold.—Gershom Beach,</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_61">61</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER VII.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">Capture of Ticonderoga,</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_73">73</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER VIII.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">Allen's Letters to the Continental Congress, to the New York Provincial Congress, and to the Massachusetts Congress,</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER IX.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">Allen's Letters to the Montreal Merchants, to the Indians in Canada, and to the Canadians.—John Brown,</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_89">89</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER X.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">Warner Elected Colonel of the Green Mountain Boys.—Allen's Letter to Governor Trumbull.—Correspondence in Regard to the Invasion of Canada.—Attack on Montreal.—Defeat and Capture.—Warner's Report,</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_98">98</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2"><span class="pagenum fvnormal"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span>CHAPTER XI.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">Allen's Narrative.—Attack on Montreal.—Defeat and Surrender.—Brutal Treatment.—Arrival in England.—Debates in Parliament,</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_110">110</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XII.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">Life in Pendennis Castle.—Lord North.—On Board the "Solebay."—Attentions Received in Ireland and Madeira,</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_128">128</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XIII.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">Rendezvous at Cape Fear.—Sickness.—Halifax Jail.—Letter to General Massey.—Voyage to New York.—On Parole,</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_144">144</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XIV.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">Release from Prison.—With Washington at Valley Forge.—The Haldimand Correspondence,</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XV.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">Vermont's Treatment by Congress.—Allen's Letters to Colonel Webster and to Congress.—Reasons for Believing Allen a Patriot,</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_173">173</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2"><span class="pagenum fvnormal"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span>CHAPTER XVI.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">Allen with Gates.—At Bennington.—David Redding.—Reply to Clinton.—Embassies to Congress.—Complaint against Brother Levi.—Allen in Court,</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_183">183</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XVII.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">Allen at Guilford.—"Oracles of Reason."—John Stark.—St. John de Crèvecœur.—Honors to Allen.—Shay's Rebellion.—Second Marriage,</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_191">191</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XVIII.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">Death.—Civilization in Allen's Time.—Estimates of Allen.—Religious Feeling in Vermont.—Monuments,</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_198">198</a></td></tr> -</table></div> - - -<hr class="chap pg-brk" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> - -<p class="pfs180">ETHAN ALLEN.</p> - -<hr class="r15" /> - <div class="chapter"></div> -<h2 class="no-brk"><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a><a href="#CONTENTS">CHAPTER I.</a></h2> - -<p class="pfs70">AN ACCOUNT OF HIS FAMILY.</p> - - -<p>Ethan Allen is the Robin Hood of Vermont. -As Robin Hood's life was an Anglo-Saxon -protest against Norman despotism, so -Allen's life was a protest against domestic robbery -and foreign tyranny. As Sherwood Forest -was the rendezvous of the gallant and -chivalrous Robin Hood, so the Green Mountains -were the home of the dauntless and high-minded -Ethan Allen. As Robin Hood, in -Scott's "Ivanhoe," so does Allen, in Thompson's -"Green Mountain Boys," win our -admiration. Although never a citizen of the -United States, he is one of the heroes of the -state and the nation; one of those whose -names the people will not willingly let die. -History and tradition, song and story, sculpt<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span>ure, -engraving, and photography alike blazon -his memory from ocean to ocean. The librarian -of the great library at Worcester, Massachusetts, -told Colonel Higginson that the -book most read was Daniel P. Thompson's -"Green Mountain Boys." Already one centennial -celebration of the capture of Ticonderoga -has been celebrated. Who can tell how -many future anniversaries of that capture our -nation will live to see! Another reason for refreshing -our memories with the history of Allen -is the bitterness with which he is attacked. -He has been accused of ignorance, weakness -of mind, cowardice, infidelity, and atheism. -Among his assailants have been the president -of a college, a clergyman, editors, contributors -to magazines and newspapers, and -even a local historian among a variety of -writers of greater or less prominence. If -Vermont is careful of her own fame, well -does it become the people to know whether -Ethan Allen was a hero or a humbug.</p> - -<p>Arnold calls history the vast Mississippi of -falsehood. The untruths that have been -published about Allen during the last hundred -and fifteen years might not fill and overflow -the Ohio branch of such a Mississippi, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span> -they would make a lively rivulet run until it -was dammed by its own silt. The late Benjamin -Disraeli, Lord Beaconsfield, fought a -duel with Daniel O'Connell, because O'Connell -declared it to be his belief that Disraeli was -a lineal descendant of the impenitent thief on -the Cross. Perhaps the libellers of Allen are -descended from the Yorkers whom he stamped -so ignominiously with the beech seal. The -fierce light of publicity perhaps never beat -upon a throne more sharply than for more than -a hundred years it has beat upon Ethan Allen. -His patriotism, courage, religious belief, and -general character have been travestied and -caricatured until now the real man has to be -dug up from heaps of untruthful rubbish, as -the peerless Apollo Belvidere was dug in the -days of Columbus from the ruins of classic -Antium.</p> - -<p>Discrepancies exist even in regard to his -age. On the stone tablet over his grave his -age is given as fifty years. Thompson said his -age was fifty-two. At the unveiling of his -statue, he was called thirty-eight years old -when Ticonderoga was taken. These three -statements are erroneous, and, strange to say, -Burlington is responsible for them all, Bur<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span>lington, -the Athens of Vermont, the town -wherein rest his ashes, the town wherein most -of the last two years of his life were passed, -and the town that has done most to honor his -memory.</p> - -<p>However humiliating it may be to state -pride, it is probable that the Allens, centuries -ago, were no more respectable than the ancestors -of Queen Victoria and the oldest British -peers. The different ways of spelling the -name, Alleyn, Alain, Allein, and Allen, seem -to indicate a Norman origin. George Allen, -professor in the University of Pennsylvania, -says that Alain had command of the rear of -William the Conqueror's army at the battle of -Hastings in 1066.</p> - -<p>Joseph Allen, the father of Ethan, comes to -the surface of history about the year 1720, one -year after the death of Addison and the first -publication of "Robinson Crusoe," in the town -of Coventry, in Eastern Connecticut, twenty -miles east of Hartford. When he first appears -to us he is a minor and an orphan. His -widowed mother, Mercy, has several children, -one of them of age. Their first recorded act -is emigration fifty miles westward to Litchfield, -famous for its scenery and ancient elms,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> -located between the Naugatuck and the Shepaug -rivers, on the Green and Taconic mountain -ranges; famous also as the place where -the first American ladies' seminary was located, -and most famous of all for its renowned -law-school, begun over a century ago by -Judge Tapping Reeve and continued by Judge -James Gould. Chief Justice John Pierpoint and -United States Senator S. S. Phelps were among -its notable pupils. The widow, Mercy Allen, -died in Litchfield, February 5, 1728. Her son -Joseph bought one-third of her real estate. -Within five years he sold two tracts, of 100 -acres each, and fourteen years after his mother's -death he sold the residue as wild land. -On March 11, 1737, Joseph Allen was married -to Mary Baker, daughter of John Baker, of -Woodbury, sister of Remember Baker, who -was father of the Remember Baker that came -to Vermont. Thus Ethan Allen and Remember -Baker were cousins.</p> - -<p>Ethan Allen was born January 10, 1737, -and died February 21, 1789, and consequently -he has been said to have been fifty-two years, -one month and two days old. In fact, he was -fifty-one years, one month and two days old. -The year 1737 terminated March 24. Had it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span> -closed December 31, Allen would have been -born in 1738. The first day of the year was -March 25 until 1752 in England and her colonies. -In 1751 the British Parliament changed -New Year's Day from March 25 to January 1. -The year 1751 had no January, no February, -and only seven days of March. Allen was -thirteen years old in 1750, and was fourteen -years old in 1752.</p> - -<p>The year 1738 gave birth to three honest -men—Ethan Allen, George III., and Benjamin -West. In 1738 George Washington was six -years old, John Adams three years old, John -Stark ten years old, Israel Putnam twenty -years old. Seth Warner and Jefferson were -born five years later. In that year no claim -had ever been made to Vermont by New York -or New Hampshire. No one had ever questioned -the right of Massachusetts to the English -part of Vermont. New Hampshire was -bounded on the west by the Merrimac. Colden, -the surveyor-general of New York, in -an official report bounded New York on the -east by Connecticut and Massachusetts, on -the north by Lake Ontario and Canada; -Canada occupying Crown Point and Chimney -Point.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p> - -<p>If by waving a magician's wand the English-American -colonies on the Atlantic slope, -as they existed in 1738, could pass before us, -wherein would the tableau differ from that of -to-day? West of the Alleghanies there were -the Indians and the French. On the north -were 50,000 prosperous French, farmers chiefly -along the valley of the St. Lawrence from -Montreal to Quebec. On the east, Acadie, including -Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and a -part of Maine, was Scotch. Florida was -Spanish. From Georgia to Maine were 1,500,000 -English-Americans and 400,000 African-Americans. -The colony of New York had a -population of 60,100. New Hampshire, consisting -of a few thousand settlers, was located -north and east of the Merrimac, and had a legislature -of its own, but no governor. Massachusetts, -with its charters from James I. and -Charles I., claimed the country to the Pacific -Ocean, and exercised ownership between the -Merrimac and Connecticut and west of the Connecticut, -without a breath of opposition from -any mortal. Massachusetts had sold land as -her own which she found to be in Connecticut, -and she paid that state for it by granting her -many thousand acres in three of the southeast<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>ern -townships of Vermont. She built and sustained -a fort in Brattleboro', kept a garrison -there with a salaried chaplain, salaried resident -Indian commissioner, and she established a -store supplied with provisions, groceries, and -goods suitable for trade with frontiersmen and -the Indians of Canada. Bartering was actively -carried on along the Connecticut River, Black -River, Otter Creek, and Lake Champlain. In -1737 a solemn ratification of the old treaty occurred -there; speeches were made, presents -given, and the healths of George II. and Governor -Belcher, of Massachusetts, were duly drunk. -There was no Anglo-Saxon settlement in Vermont -outside of Brattleboro'. In Pownal were -a few families of Dutch squatters. The Indian -village of St. Francis, midway between Montreal -and Quebec, peopled partly by New England -refugees from King Philip's war of 1676, -exercised supreme control over northeastern -Vermont.</p> - -<p>In all the land were only three colleges: -Harvard, one hundred and two years old, -Yale, thirty-seven, and William and Mary, -forty-five.</p> - -<p>Ethan Allen had five brothers, Heman, -Heber, Levi, Zimri, and Ira, and two sisters,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> -Lydia and Lucy. Of all our early heroes, few -glide before us with a statelier step or more -beneficent mien than Heman Allen, the oldest -brother of Ethan. Born in Cornwall, Connecticut, -October 15, 1740, dying in Salisbury, -Connecticut, May 18, 1778, his life of thirty-seven -and a half years was like that of the -Chevalier Bayard, without fear and without -reproach. A man of affairs, a merchant and -a soldier, a politician and a land-owner, a -diplomat and a statesman, he was capable, intelligent, -honest, earnest, and true. But fifteen -years old when his father died, he was early engaged -in trade at Salisbury. His home became -the home of his widowed mother and her large -family. Salisbury was his home and probably -his legal residence, although he represented -Rutland and Colchester in the Vermont Conventions, -and was sent to Congress by Dorset.</p> - -<p>Heber was the first town clerk of Poultney.</p> - -<p>Ira was able, shrewd, and gentlemanly; a -land surveyor and speculator, a lieutenant in -Warner's regiment, a member of all the conventions -of 1776 and 1777, of the Councils of -Safety and of the State Council; state treasurer, -surveyor-general, author of a <ins class="corr" title="Transcriber's Note—Original text: 'History of 'Vermont,">"History -of Vermont",</ins> and of various official papers and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> -political pamphlets. In 1796 he bought, in -France, twenty-four brass cannon and twenty -thousand muskets, ostensibly for the Vermont -militia, which were seized by the English. -After a lawsuit of seven or eight years he regained -them, but the expense beggared him. -He died in Philadelphia, January 7, 1814, aged -sixty-three years.</p> - -<p>Levi Allen joined in the expedition to capture -Ticonderoga, became Tory, and was complained -of by his brother Ethan as follows:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="noindent"><span class="smcap">Bennington County</span>, <em>ss.</em>:</p> -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Arlington</span>, 9 January, 1779.</p> - -<p>To the Hon. the Court of Confiscation, comes -Col. Ethan Allen, in the name of the freemen -of the state, and complaint makes that Levi -Allen, late of Salisbury in Connecticut, is of Tory -principles and holds in fee sundry tracts and parcels -of land in this State. The said Levi, has -been detected in endeavoring to supply the enemy -on Long Island; and in attempting to circulate -counterfeit continental money, and is guilty of -holding treasonable correspondence with the enemy -under cover of doing favors to me when a -prisoner at New York and Long Island; and in -talking and using influence in favor of the enemy, -associating with inimical persons to this country, -and with them monopolizing the necessaries of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> -life; in endeavoring to lessen the credit of the -continental currency, and in particular hath exerted -himself in the most fallacious manner to injure -the property and character of some of the -most zealous friends to the independence of the -U. S. and of this State likewise: all which inimical -conduct is against the peace and dignity of the -freemen of this State. I therefore pray the Hon. -Court to take the matter under their consideration -and make confiscation of the estate of said Levi -before mentioned, according to the laws and customs -of this State, in such case made and provided.</p> - -<p class="right smcap">Ethan Allen.</p></div> - -<p>Levi died while in jail, for debt, at Burlington, -Vermont, in 1801.</p> - -<p>Zimri lived and died in Sheffield.</p> - -<p>Lydia married a Mr. Finch, and lived and -died in Goshen, Connecticut.</p> - -<p>Lucy married a Dr. Beebee, and lived and -died in Sheffield.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span></p> - - <div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a><a href="#CONTENTS">CHAPTER II.</a></h2> - -<p class="pfs70">EARLY LIFE, HABITS OF THOUGHT, AND RELIGIOUS -TENDENCIES.</p> - - -<p>The life of Allen may be divided into four -periods: the first thirty-one years before he -came to Vermont (1738-1769), the six years in -Vermont before his captivity (1769-1775), the -two years and eight months of captivity (1775-1778), -and the eleven years in Vermont after -his captivity (1778-1789).</p> - -<p>When he was two years old the family moved -into Cornwall. There his brothers and sisters -were born, there his father died, there Ethan -lived until he was twenty-four years old. -When seventeen he was fitting for college with -the Rev. Mr. Lee, of Salisbury. His father's -death put an end to his studies. This was in -1755, when the French and Indian war was -raging along Lakes George and Champlain, -a war which lasted until Allen's twenty-third -year. Some of the early settlers of Vermont, -Samuel Robinson, Joseph Bowker, and others,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> -took part in this war. Not so Allen. There -is no intimation that he hungered for a -soldier's life in his youth. His usual means -of earning a livelihood for himself and his -widowed mother's family is supposed to have -been agriculture.</p> - -<p>William Cothrens, in his "History of Ancient -Woodbury," tells us that in January, 1762, -Allen, with three others, entered into the iron -business in Salisbury, Connecticut, and built -a furnace. In June of that year he returned -to Roxbury, and married Mary Brownson, a -maiden five years older than himself. The -marriage fee was four shillings, or sixty-seven -cents. By this wife he had five children: -one son, who died at the age of eleven, while -Ethan was a captive, and four daughters. -Two died unmarried; one married Eleazer W. -Keyes, of Burlington; the other married the -Hon. Samuel Hitchcock, of Burlington, and -was the mother of General Ethan Allen -Hitchcock, U. S. A.</p> - -<p>Allen resided with his family first at Salisbury -and afterward at Sheffield, the southwest -corner town of Massachusetts. For six miles -the boundary line of the two states is the -boundary line of the two towns. In these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> -towns the families of Ethan Allen and his -brothers and sisters lived many years. Two -years after moving to Salisbury he bought -two and a half acres, or one-sixteenth part -of a tract of land on Mine Hill, an elevation -of 350 feet in Roxbury, containing, it is -said, the most remarkable deposit of spathic -iron ore in the United States. Immense sums -of money were expended in vain attempts to -work it as a silver mine. Two years after -Allen began his Vermont life he still owned -land in Judea Society, a part of the present -town of Washington. The details and financial -results of these business undertakings are -not furnished us. They indicate enterprise, if -nothing more. Carrying on a farm, casting -iron ware, and working a mine, not military -affairs, seem to have been the avenues wherein -Allen developed his executive ability during -his early manhood.</p> - -<p>What were his educational facilities, his social -privileges, and his religious views during -this formative period of his life? Ira Allen, -in 1795, writes to Dr. S. Williams, the early -historian of Vermont, that when his father, -Joseph Allen, died, his brother Ethan was preparing -for college, and that the death of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> -father obliged Ethan to discontinue his classical -studies. Mr. Jehial Johns, of Huntington, -told the Rev. Zadock Thompson that he -knew Ethan Allen in Connecticut, and was -very certain that Allen spent some time studying -with the Rev. Mr. Lee, of Salisbury, with -the view of fitting himself for college. The -widow of Judge Samuel Hitchcock, of Burlington, -told Mr. Thompson that Ethan's attendance -at school did not exceed three months. -Ira Allen writes General Haldimand in July, -1781, that his brother Ethan has resigned his -Brigadier-Generalship in the Vermont militia, -and "returned to his old studies, philosophy." -To what period in Ethan's life does the phrase -"old studies" refer? It could not be his life -after the captivity, during his five years' collisions -with the Yorkers, but the period we -are now considering. Heman Allen's widow, -when Mrs. Wadhams, told Zadock Thompson -that one summer when he was residing in her -house he passed almost all the time in writing. -She did not know what was the subject of his -study, but on one occasion she called him to -dinner, and he said he was very sorry she had -called him so soon, for he had "got clear up -into the upper regions." Allen himself says:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>In my youth I was much disposed to contemplation, -and at my commencement in manhood I committed -to manuscript such sentiments or arguments -as appeared most consonant to reason, lest through -the debility of memory, my improvement should -have been less gradual. This method of scribbling -I practised for many years, from which I -experienced great advantages in the progression -of learning and knowledge; the more so as I was -deficient in education and had to acquire the -knowledge of grammar and language, as well as -the art of reasoning, principally from a studious -application to it; which after all, I am sensible, -lays me under disadvantages, particularly in matters -of composition; however, to remedy this defect -I have substituted the most unwearied pains.... -Ever since I arrived at the state of manhood -and acquainted myself with the general -history of mankind, I have felt a sincere passion -for liberty. The history of nations doomed to -perpetual slavery in consequence of yielding up to -tyrants their natural-born liberties, I read with a -sort of philosophical horror.</p></div> - -<p>In Allen's youth great revivals were inaugurated, -organized, and continued mainly -by the preaching of Whitefield, who roused -and electrified audiences of several thousands, -as men have rarely been moved since the days -of Peter the Hermit. Even Franklin, Bolingbroke, -and Chesterfield were fascinated by him.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> -As for Allen, baptized in his infancy, in the -days when no Sabbath-school blessed the race, -when the Westminster Catechism and Watts' -Hymns were in use throughout New England -(Isaac Watts died when Allen was eleven years -old), living in and near northwest Connecticut -in as democratic and religious community as the -world had ever seen, reading none of the books -of the Deists, he was fond of discussion and -delighted in writing out his arguments. Having -been brought up an Armenian Christian, in -contradistinction to a Calvinistic Christian, his -views in early manhood began to change. One -picture of this gradual evolution he gives us -in the following description:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>The doctrine of imputation according to the -Christian scheme consists of two parts. First, of -imputation of the apostasy of Adam and Eve to -their posterity, commonly called original sin; -and secondly, of the imputation of the merits or -righteousness of Christ, who in Scripture is called -the second Adam to mankind or to the elect. This -is a concise definition of the doctrine, and which -will undoubtedly be admitted to be a just one by -every denomination of men who are acquainted -with Christianity, whether they adhere to it or not.</p> - -<p>I therefore proceed to illustrate and explain the -doctrine by transcribing a short but very perti<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>nent -conversation which in the early days of my -manhood I had with a Calvinistic divine; but -previously remark that I was educated in what -are commonly called the Armenian principles; -and among other tenets to reject the doctrine of -original sin; this was the point at issue between -the clergyman and me. In my turn I opposed -the doctrine of original sin with philosophical -reasonings, and as I thought had confuted the -doctrine. The Reverend gentleman heard me -through patiently: and with candor replied:</p> - -<p>"Your metaphysical reasonings are not to the -purpose, inasmuch as you are a Christian and hope -and expect to be saved by the imputed righteousness -of Christ to you; for you may as well be imputedly -sinful as imputedly righteous. Nay," said -he, "if you hold to the doctrine of satisfaction and -atonement by Christ, by so doing you presuppose -the doctrine of apostasy or original sin to be in -fact true;" for, said he, "if mankind were not in a -ruined and condemned state by nature, there could -have been no need of a Redeemer; but each individual -of them would have been accountable to his -Creator and Judge, upon the basis of his own -moral agency. Further observing that upon philosophical -principles it was difficult to account for -the doctrine of original sin, or of original righteousness; -yet as they were plain, fundamental doctrines -of the Christian faith we ought to assent to -the truth of them; and that from the divine authority -of revelation. Notwithstanding," said he,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> -"if you will give me a philosophical explanation -of <ins class="corr" title="Transcriber's Note—Original text: 'origial'">original</ins> imputed righteousness, which you profess -to believe and expect salvation by, then I will -return you a philosophical explanation of original -sin; for it is plain," said he, "that your objections -lie with equal weight against original imputed -righteousness, as against original imputed sin."</p> - -<p>Upon which I had the candor to acknowledge -to the worthy ecclesiastic, that upon the Christian -plan I perceived the argument had clearly terminated -against me. For at that time I dared not -to distrust the infallibility of revelation; much -more to dispute it. However, this conversation -was uppermost in my mind for several months -after; and after many painful searches and researches -after the truth, respecting the doctrine -of imputation, resolved at all events to abide the -decision of rational argument in the premises; -and on a full examination of both parts of the -doctrine, rejected the whole; for on a fair scrutiny, -I found that I must concede to it entirely or -not at all; or else believe inconsistently as the -clergyman had argued.</p></div> - -<p>He relates also a change from his juvenile -views of biblical history:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>When I was a boy, by one means or other, I had -conceived a very bad opinion of Pharaoh; he -seemed to me to be a cruel, despotic prince; he -would not give the Israelites straw, but nevertheless, -demanded of them the full tale of brick; for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> -a time he opposed God Almighty; but was at last -luckily drowned in the Red Sea; at which event, -with other good Christians, I rejoiced, and even -exulted at the overthrow of the base and wicked -tyrant. But after a few years of maturity and examination -of the history of that monarch given -by Moses, with the before recited remarks of the -apostle, I conceived a more favorable opinion of -him; inasmuch as we are told that God raised -him up and hardened his heart, and predestinated -his reign, his wickedness, and his overthrow.</p></div> - -<p>In 1782 he says:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>In the circle of my acquaintance (which has not -been small), I have generally been denominated a -Deist, the reality of which I never disputed; being -conscious I am no Christian, except mere -infant baptism makes me one; and as to being a -Deist, I know not, strictly speaking, whether I am -one or not, for I have never read their writings.</p></div> - -<p>We are told that Allen in his early life was -very intimate with Dr. Thomas Young, the -man who supplied the state with its name, -"Vermont," in April, 1777, and who so strongly -encouraged it to assert its independence. One -of the most noted characteristics of Ethan, his -fondness for the society of able men, is illustrated -in his association with Young.</p> - -<p>Dr. Young, who was a distinguished citizen of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> -Philadelphia, was on most of the Whig committees -in Boston, before the Revolution, with -James Otis, Samuel Adams, Joseph Warren, -and others. He and Adams addressed the -great public meeting on the day "when Boston -harbor was black with unexpected tea." He -was a neighbor of Allen, living in the Oblong, -in Dutchess County, while Allen lived in Salisbury. -Afterward he lived in Albany, and died -in Philadelphia in the third year of Allen's -captivity. He was influential in causing Vermont -to adopt the constitution of Pennsylvania.</p> - -<p>The Oblong, Salisbury and vicinity, abounded -in free thinkers. Young and Allen opposed -President Edwards' famous theological tenets, -the latter spending much time in Young's -house, and it was generally understood that they -were preparing for publication a book in support -of sceptical principles; the two agreeing that -the one that outlived the other should publish -it. Allen, on going to Vermont, left his manuscripts -with Young, and on his release from -captivity after Young's death obtained from -the latter's family, who had gone back to -Dutchess County, both his own and Young's -manuscripts, and these were the originals of -his "Oracles of Reason."</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p> - - <div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a><a href="#CONTENTS">CHAPTER III.</a></h2> - -<p class="pfs70">REMOVAL TO VERMONT.—THE NEW HAMPSHIRE -GRANTS.</p> - - -<p>Allen came to Vermont, probably, in 1769, -a year memorable for the founding of Dartmouth -College and for the birth of four of -earth's renowned men: two soldiers, Wellington -and Napoleon; two scholars, Cuvier and -Humboldt.</p> - -<p>In the early history of Vermont, one of its -prominent judges speculated extensively in -Green Mountain wild lands. The aggregate -result of these speculations was disastrous. -Attending a session of the legislature, the -judge was called upon by a committee for his -advice in reference to suitable penalties for -some crime. He replied, advising for the first -offence a fine; for the second, imprisonment; -and if the criminal should prove such a hardened -offender, such a veteran in vice as to be -guilty the third time, he recommended that -the scoundrel should be compelled to receive<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> -a deed of a mile square of wild Vermont lands. -Speculation in wild lands is a feature of pioneer -society. Vermont was once the agricultural -Eldorado of New England. Emigration first -rolled northward. Since that time a certain -star, erroneously supposed to belong to Bishop -Berkeley, has been travelling westward.</p> - -<p>In 1749 Benning Wentworth, Governor of -New Hampshire, issued a patent of a township, -six miles square, near the northwest angle of -Massachusetts and corresponding with its line -northward, and in this township of Bennington -the Allens bought lands and made their -home. This grant caused a remonstrance from -the governor and council of New York. Similar -remonstrances had been made in the cases -of Connecticut and Massachusetts, each of -whom claimed that their territory extended -to the Connecticut River. But that question -had been settled in the former cases between -New York and New England by agreeing upon -a line from the southwest corner of Connecticut -northerly to Lake Champlain as the boundary -between the provinces. Wentworth urged in -justification of his course that the boundary line -was well known, and that New Hampshire had -the same right as the other colonies of New<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> -England, and he persevered in his own course. -In 1754 fourteen new townships had been -granted, when the French war broke out and -the settlers were deterred from occupying -their lands by the incursions of the French -and Indians on the frontier and the uncertainty -of the termination of the contest; but -when Canada was reduced by the English and -peace concluded, there was a new rush for the -possession of the fertile lands by the hardy -and adventurous sons of the old New England -colonies. In four years Governor Wentworth -granted one hundred and thirty-eight -townships, and the territory included was -called the New Hampshire Grants. Then -began in bitter earnest the long controversy -between New York and New Hampshire for -the ownership of all the territory now known -as Vermont.</p> - -<p>In order to make clear the circumstances of -the time when Ethan Allen came to the front, -it is necessary to explain something of the -origin of the strife. The New York claim was -founded on a charter given by Charles II. to -his brother, the Duke of York, in 1664, for -the country lying between the Connecticut and -Delaware rivers. But that charter had long<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> -been considered as practically a nullity, for -when the Duke of York succeeded to the -throne of England, it all became public property -subject to the king's divisions; and -there are strong reasons for believing that the -mention of the Connecticut was merely a -formality, not intended as a definite boundary, -and that the design was to take in the whole -of the New Netherlands. The geography of -the country was little known, and the wording -of the charter was ambiguous and vague. -Allen at once espoused the cause of the settlers. -But for him the State of Vermont would -probably have never existed. But for Allen, -Albany, not Montpelier, might have been the -capital of Vermont. Allen's most illustrious -achievement for the benefit of the nation was -the capture of Ticonderoga. His great work -for Vermont was successful resistance to the -Yorkers.</p> - -<p>Before entering upon this period of litigation, -one of the stories of Allen, illustrating -his honesty, may fitly find a place. Having -given a note which he was unable to pay -when it became due, he was sued. Allen employed -a lawyer to attend to his case and postpone -payment. But the lawyer could not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> -prevent the rendering a judgment against -Allen at the first term of court, unless he filed -a plea alleging some real or fictitious ground -of defence. Accordingly, quite innocently he -put in the usual plea denying that Allen signed -the note. The effect of this was to continue -the case to the next term of court, exactly -what Allen wanted; but Allen was present and -was indignant that he should be made to appear -to sanction a falsehood. He rose in -court and vehemently denounced his lawyer, -telling him that he did not employ him to tell -a lie; he did sign that note; he wanted to pay -it; he only wanted time!</p> - -<p>It was in June, 1770, that Allen first became -prominent in Vermont public affairs. -Then it was that the lawsuits brought by -Yorkers for Vermont lands were tried before -the Supreme Court at Albany. Robert R. -Livingston was the presiding judge; Kempe -and Duane, attorneys for plaintiffs; Silvester, -of Albany, and Jared Ingersoll, of New -Haven, attorneys for defendants. Ethan -Allen was active in preparing the defence. -But of what avail was defence when the court -was virtually an adverse party to the suit? -Not only did Duane claim 50,000 acres of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> -Vermont lands, but, to the disgrace of English -jurisprudence, Livingston, the presiding -judge, was interested directly or indirectly in -30,000 acres. The farce was soon played out; -the court refused to hear the New Hampshire -charter read; one trial was sufficient; the -plaintiffs won all the cases. Duane and others -called on Allen and reminded him that "might -makes right," advising him to go home and -counsel compromise. Allen observed: "The -gods of the valleys are not the gods of the -hills!" Duane asked for an explanation, and -Allen replied: "If you will come to Bennington -the meaning shall be made clear to -you."</p> - -<p>Allen went home and no compromise was -thought of. The great seal of New Hampshire -being disregarded, the "Beech Seal" was -invented as a substitute. A military organization -was formed with several companies, -Seth Warner, Remember Baker, and others as -captains, and Ethan Allen as colonel.</p> - -<p>In July, 1771, on the farm of James Breakenridge, -in Bennington, the State of Vermont was -born. Ten Eyck, the sheriff, with 300 men, including -mayor, aldermen, lawyers, and others, -issued forth from Albany, as did De Soto to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> -capture Florida, as Don Quixote essayed to -conquer the windmills. Breakenridge's family -were wisely absent. In his house were eighteen -armed men provided with a red flag to run up -the chimney as a signal for aid. The house -was barricaded and provided with loop-holes. -On the woody ridge north were 100 armed -men, their heads and the muzzles of their -guns barely visible amid the foliage. To the -southeast, in plain sight, was a smaller body -of men within gunshot of the house. Six -or seven guarded the bridge half a mile to the -west. Mayor Cuyler and a few others were allowed -to cross the bridge and a parley ensued. -The mayor returned to the bridge, and in half -an hour the sheriff was notified that possession -would be kept at all hazards. He ordered -the posse to advance, and a small portion reluctantly -complied. Another parley followed, -while lawyer Yates expounded New York law -and the Vermonters justified their position. -The sheriff seized an axe, and going toward -the door, threatened to break it open. In an instant -an array of guns was aimed at him; he -stopped, retired to the bridge, and ordered the -posse to advance five miles into Bennington. -But the Yorkers stampeded for home, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> -bubble burst. The "star that never sets" had -begun to glimmer upon the horizon.</p> - -<p>In the winter of 1771-72 Governor Tryon, of -New York, issued proclamations heavy with -ponderous logic and shotted with offers of -money for the arrest of Allen and others. To -the arguments Allen replied through a newspaper, -the Connecticut <cite>Courant</cite>, of Hartford. -To the premium for his arrest he returned a -Roland for an Oliver in the following placard:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>£25 Reward.—Whereas James Duane and John -Kempe, of New York, have by their menaces and -threats greatly disturbed the public peace and repose -of the honest peasants of Bennington and the -settlements to the northward, which are now and -ever have been in the peace of God and the King, -and are patriotic and liege subjects of Geo. the 3d. -Any person that will apprehend those common disturbers, -viz: James Duane and John Kempe, and -bring them to Landlord Fay's, at Bennington, -shall have £15 reward for James Duane and £10 -reward for John Kempe, paid by</p> - -<p class="noindent pad16"> -<span class="smcap">Ethan Allen.</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">Remember Baker.</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">Robert Cochran.</span></p> - -<p class="noindent mmx3">Dated Poultney,</p> -<p>Feb. 5, 1772.</p> -</div> - -<p>Duane and Kempe were prominent lawyers -of New York, and also prominent as advocates -of New York's claim to Vermont lands. Duane<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> -was the son-in-law of Robert Livingston and -Kempe was attorney-general. The idea of -their being kidnapped for exhibition at a log -tavern in the wilderness was slightly grotesque. -But this did not satisfy Allen. He would fain -visit the enemy in one of his strongholds.</p> - -<p>Albany was emphatically a Dutch city, for -it was two centuries old before it had 10,000 -inhabitants. In 1772 it might have had half -that number. While the country was flooded -with proclamations for his arrest, Allen rode -alone into the city. Slowly passing through -the streets to the principal hotel he dismounted, -entered the bar-room, and called for a bowl -of punch. The news circulated; the Dutch -rallied; the crowd centred at the hotel; the -officers of the court, the valiant sheriff, Ten -Eyck, and the attorney-general were present. -Allen raised the punch-bowl, bowed courteously -to the crowd, swallowed the beverage, returned -to the street, remounted his horse, rose in his -stirrups and shouted "Hurrah for the Green -Mountains!" and then leisurely rode away unharmed -and unmolested. The incident illustrates -Allen's shrewd courage, and sustains -Governor Hall's theory that the people of New -York sympathized more with the Green Moun<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>tain -Boys than with their own land-gambling -officers.</p> - -<p>At the Green Mountain tavern in Bennington -was a sign-post, with a sign twenty-five -feet from the ground. Over the sign was the -stuffed skin of a catamount with large teeth -grinning toward New York. A Dutchman of -Arlington who had been active against the -Green Mountain Boys was punished by being -tied in an arm-chair, hoisted to this sign, and -there suspended for two hours, to the amusement -of the juvenile population and the quiet -gratification of their seniors.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span></p> - - <div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a><a href="#CONTENTS">CHAPTER IV.</a></h2> - -<p class="pfs70">ALLEN AND THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.—NEGOTIATIONS -BETWEEN THE NEW YORK AND THE -NEW HAMPSHIRE GRANTS.</p> - - -<p>During the six years preceding the Revolution, -Allen was the most prominent leader of -the Green Mountain Boys in all matters of -peace, and also in political writing. When -the Manchester Convention, October 21, 1772, -sent James Breakenridge, of Bennington, and -Jehiel Hawley, of Arlington, as delegates to -England, perhaps Allen could not be spared, -for if any New York document needed answering -Allen answered it; if any handbill, proclamation -or counter-statement, or political or -legal argument was to be written, Allen wrote -it; if New England was to be informed of the -Yorkers' rascalities, Allen sent the information -to the Connecticut <cite>Courant</cite> and Portsmouth -<cite>Gazette</cite>, Vermont having no newspaper. Rarely -was force or threat used or a rough joke -played on a Yorker, but Allen was first in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> -fray. In Bennington County Allen with others -told a Yorker that they had "that morning -resolved to offer a burnt sacrifice to the gods -of the woods in burning the logs of his house." -They did burn the logs and the rafters, and -told him to go and complain to his "scoundrel -governor."</p> - -<p>Of all the towns of Western Vermont, -Clarendon had been most noted for its Tories -and its Yorkers. Settled as early as 1768, its -settlers founded their claims to land titles on -grants from three different powers: Colonel -Lydius, New York, and New Hampshire. The -New York patent of Socialborough, covering -Rutland and Pittsford substantially, was dated -April 3, 1771, and issued by Governor Dunmore. -The New York patent of Durham, dated January -7, 1772, issued by Governor Tryon, covered -Clarendon. Both were in direct violation -of the royal order in council, July, 1767, and -therefore illegal and void. The new county -of Charlotte, created March 12, 1772, extended -from Canada into Arlington and Sunderland -and west of Lake George and Lake Champlain. -Benjamin Spencer, of Durham, was a justice -and judge of the new county; Jacob Marsh, of -Socialborough, a justice; and Simeon Jenny,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> -who lived near Chippenhook, coroner. These -three officers were zealous New York partisans. -The Green Mountain Boys in council passed -resolutions to the effect that no citizen should -do any official act under New York authority; -that all persons holding Vermont lands should -hold them under New Hampshire laws, and -if necessary force should be used to enforce -these resolves.</p> - -<p>In the early part of the fall of 1773, a large -force of Green Mountain Boys, under Ethan -Allen and other leaders, visited Clarendon and -requested the Yorkers to comply with these -resolutions, informing them if this were not -done within a reasonable time the persons of -the Durhamites would suffer. Justice Spencer -absconded. No violence was used except on -one poor innocent dog of the name of Tryon, -and Governor Tryon was so odious that the dog -was cut in pieces without benefit of clergy. -This display of force and the threats that were -very freely used, it was hoped, would be -enough to secure submission, but the justices -still issued writs against the New Hampshire -settlers; other New York officials acted, and -all were loud in advocating the New York -title.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p> - -<p>A second visit to Durham was made. Saturday, -November 20, at 11 <span class="fs70">P.M.</span>, Ethan Allen, -Remember Baker, and twenty to thirty others -surrounded Spencer's house, took him prisoner, -and carried him two miles to the house of one -Green, where he was kept under a guard of -four men until Monday morning, and then -taken "to the house of Joseph Smith, of Durham, -innkeeper." He was asked where he -preferred to be tried; he replied that he was -not guilty of any crime, but if he must be -tried, he should choose his own door as the -place of trial. The Green Mountain Boys had -now increased in number to about one hundred -and thirty, armed with guns, cutlasses, and other -weapons. The people of Clarendon, Rutland, -and Pittsford hearing of the trial, gathered to -witness the proceedings. A rural lawsuit still -has a wonderful fascination for a rural populace. -Allen addressed the crowd, telling them that -he, with Remember Baker, Seth Warner, and -Robert Cochran, had been appointed to inspect -and set things in order; that "Durham had -become a hornets' nest" which must be broken -up. A "judgment seat" was erected; Allen, -Warner, Baker, and Cochran took seats thereon -as judges, and Spencer was ordered to stand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> -before this tribunal, take off his hat, and listen -to the accusations. Allen accused him of joining -with New York land jobbers against New -Hampshire grantees and issuing a warrant as -a justice. Warner accused him of accepting a -New York commission as a magistrate, of acting -under it, of writing a letter hostile to -New Hampshire, of selling land bought of a -New York grantee, and of trying to induce -people to submit to New York. He was found -guilty, his house declared a nuisance, and the -sentence was pronounced that his house be -burnt, and that he promise not to act again as a -New York justice. Spencer declared that if his -house were burned, his store of dry-goods and -all his property would be destroyed and his wife -and children would be great sufferers. Thereupon -the sentence was reconsidered. Warner -suggested that his house be not destroyed, but -that the roof be taken off and put on again, -provided Spencer should acknowledge that it -was put on under a New Hampshire title and -should purchase a New Hampshire title. The -judges so decided. Spencer promised compliance, -and "with great shouting" the roof was -taken off and replaced, and this pioneer dry-goods -store of 1773 was preserved.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span></p> - -<p>At another time twenty or thirty of Allen's -party visit the house of Coroner Jenny. The -house was deserted; Jenny had fled, and they -burned the house to the ground. The other -Durhamites were visited and threatened, and -they agreed to purchase New Hampshire titles. -Some of the party returning from Clarendon -met Jacob Marsh in Arlington, on his way from -New York to Rutland. They seized him and -put him on trial. Warner and Baker were the -accusers. Baker wished to apply the "beech -seal," but the judges declined. Warner read -the sentence that he should encourage New -Hampshire settlers, discourage New York -settlers, and not act as a New York justice, -"upon pain of having his house burnt and reduced -to ashes and his person punished at -their pleasure." He was then dismissed with -the following certificate:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Arlington, Nov. 25, <span class="fs70">A.D.</span> 1773. These may -sertify that Jacob Marsh haith been examined, and -had a fare trial, so that our mob shall not meadel -farther with him as long as he behaves.</p> - -<p>Sertified by us as his judges, to wit,</p> - -<p class="noindent pad16"> -<span class="smcap">Nathaniel Spencer</span>,<br /> -<span class="smcap">Saml. Tubs</span>,<br /> -<span class="smcap">Philip Perry</span>.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span></p> - -<p>On reaching home, Marsh found that the -roof of his house had been publicly taken off -by the Green Mountain Boys.</p> - -<p>Spencer in his letter to Duane, April 11, -1772, wrote: "One Ethan Allen hath brought -from Connecticut twelve or fifteen of the most -blackguard fellows he can get, double-armed, -in order to protect him." This same Spencer, -after acting as a Whig and one of the Council -of Safety, deserted to Burgoyne in 1777, and -died a few weeks after at Ticonderoga.</p> - -<p>Benjamin Hough, of Clarendon, was a -troublesome New York justice. His neighbors -seized him and carried him thirty miles south -in a sleigh. After three days, January 30, -1775, he was tried in Sunderland before Allen -and others. His punishment was two hundred -lashes on the naked back while he was -tied to a tree. Allen and Warner signed a -written certificate as a burlesque passport for -Hough to New York, "he behaving as becometh."</p> - -<p>At this time the following open letters from -the Green Mountain Boys were published:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>An epistle to the inhabitants of Clarendon: -From Mr. Francis Madison of your town, I under<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>stand -Oliver Colvin of your town has acted the -infamous part by locating part of the farm of said -Madison. This sort of trick I was partly apprised -of, when I wrote the late letter to Messrs. Spencer -and Marsh. I abhor to put a staff into the -hands of Colvin or any other rascal to defraud your -letter. The Hampshire title must, nay shall, be -had for such settlers as are in quest of it, at a -reasonable rate, nor shall any villain by a sudden -purchase impose on the old settlers. I advise said -Colvin to be flogged for the abuse aforesaid, unless -he immediately retracts and reforms, and if there -be further difficulties among you, I advise that -you employ Capt. Warner as an arbitrator in your -affairs. I am certain he will do all parties justice. -Such candor you need in your present situation, -for I assure you, it is not the design of our mobs -to betray you into the hands of villainous purchasers. -None but blockheads would purchase -your farms, and they must be treated as such. If -this letter does not settle this dispute, you had -better hire Captain Warner to come simply and -assist you in the settlement of your affairs. My -business is such that I cannot attend to your matters -in person, but desire you would inform me, -by writing or otherwise relative thereto. Captain -Baker joins with the foregoing, and does me the -honor to subscribe his name with me. We are, -gentlemen, your friends to serve.</p> - -<p class="noindent pad16"> -<span class="smcap">Ethan Allen</span>,<br /> -<span class="smcap">Remember Baker</span>.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="negin1"><em>To Mr. Benjamin Spencer and Mr. Amos Marsh, and -the people of Clarendon in general</em>:</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Gentlemen</span>:—On my return from what you -called the mob, I was concerned for your welfare, -fearing that the force of our arms would urge you -to purchase the New Hampshire title at an unreasonable -rate, tho' at the same time I know not -but after the force is withdrawn, you will want a -third army. However, on proviso, you incline to -purchase the title aforesaid, it is my opinion, that -you in justice ought to have it at a reasonable rate, -as new lands were valued at the time you purchased -them. This, with sundry other arguments -in your behalf, I laid before Captain Jehiel Hawley -and other respectable gentlemen of that place -(Arlington) and by their advice and concurrence, -I write you this friendly epistle unto which they -subscribe their names with me, that we are disposed -to assist you in purchasing reasonably as -aforesaid; and on condition Colonel Willard, or -any other person demand an exorbitant price for -your lands we scorn it, and will assist you in -mobbing such avaricious persons, for we mean to -use force against oppression, and that only. Be it -in New York, Willard, or any person, it is injurious -to the rights of the district.</p> - -<p class="pad2"> -From yours to serve.</p> - -<p class="noindent pad16 mmx1"><span class="smcap">Ethan Allen</span>,<br /> -<span class="smcap">Jehiel Hawley</span>,<br /> -<span class="smcap">Daniel Castle</span>,<br /> -<span class="smcap">Gideon Hawley</span>,<br /> -<span class="smcap">Reuben Hawley</span>,<br /> -<span class="smcap">Abel Hawley</span>.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span></p> - -<p>The convention had decreed that no officer -from New York should attempt to take any -person out of its territory, on penalty of a -severe punishment, and it forbade any surveyor -to run lines through the lands or inspect -them with that purpose. This edict enlarged -the powers of the military commanders, and it -was their duty to search out such offenders. -The Committees of Safety which were chosen -were entrusted with powers for regulating -local affairs, and the conventions of delegates -representing the people, which assembled from -time to time, adopted measures tending to harmony -and concentration of effort.</p> - -<p>May 19, 1772 (the year in which occurred -Poland's first dismemberment), Governor Tryon -wrote to Bennington and vicinity, inviting -the citizens to send delegates to him and explain -the causes of their opposition to New -York rule. Could anything be fairer or more -politic and wise? He promised safety to any -and all sent, except four of their leaders, Allen, -Warner, Cochran, and Sevil, and suggested -sending their pastor, J. Dewey, and Mr. Fay. -Dewey answered on June 5:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>We, his Majesty's leal and loyal subjects of -the Province of New York.... First, we hold<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> -fee of our land by grants of George II., and -George III., the lands reputed then in New Hampshire. -Since 1764, New York has granted the -same land as though the fee of the land and property -was altered with jurisdiction, which we -suppose was not.... Suits of law for our lands -rejecting our proof of title, refusing time to -get our evidence are the grounds of our discontent.... -Breaking houses for possession of them -and their owners, firing on these people and -wounding innocent women and children.... -We must closely adhere to the maintaining our -property with a due submission to Your Excellency's -jurisdiction.... We pray and beseech -Your Excellency would assist to quiet us -in our possessions, till his Majesty in his royal -wisdom shall be graciously pleased to settle the -controversy.</p></div> - -<p>Allen, not being allowed to go to New York, -wrote to Tryon in conjunction with Warner, -Baker, and Cochran, stating the case as follows:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>No consideration whatever, shall induce us to -remit in the least of our loyalty and gratitude to -our most Gracious Sovereign, and reasonably to -you; yet no tyranny shall deter us from asserting -and vindicating our rights and privileges as Englishmen. -We expect an answer to our humble -petition, delivered you soon after you became -Governor, but in vain. We assent to your jurisdiction, -because it is the King's will, and always<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> -have, except where perverse use would deprive us -of our property and country. We desire and petition -to be reannexed to New Hampshire. That is -not the principal cause we object to, but we think -change made by fraud, unconstitutional exercise of -it. The New York patentees got judgments, took -out writs, and actually dispossessed several by -order of law, of their houses and farms and necessaries. -These families spent their fortunes in bringing -wilderness into fruitful fields, gardens and -orchards. Over fifteen hundred families ejected, -if five and one-quarter persons are allowed to -each family.... The writs of ejectment come -thicker and faster.... Nobody can be supposed -under law if law does not protect.... -Since our misfortune of being annexed to New -York, law is a tool to cheat us.... Fatigued -in settling a wilderness country.... As our -cause is before the King, we do not expect you to -determine it.... If we don't oppose Sheriff, -he takes our houses and farms. If we do, we are -indicted rioters. If our friends help us, they are -indicted rioters. As to refugees, self-preservation -necessitated our treating some of them roughly. -Ebenezer Cowle and Jonathan Wheat, of Shaftsbury, -fled to New York, because of their own -guilt, they not being hurt nor threatened. John -Munro, Esq., and ruffians, assaulting Baker at daybreak, -March 22, was a notorious riot, cutting, -wounding and maiming Mr. Baker, his wife and -children. As Baker is alive he has no cause of -complaint. Later he (Munro) assaulted Warner<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> -who, with a dull cutlass, struck him on the head -to the ground. As laws are made by our enemies, -we could not bring Munro to justice otherwise -than by mimicing him, and treating him as he did -Baker, and so forth. Bliss Willoughby, feigning -business, went to Baker's house and reported to -Munro, thus instigating and planning the attack.... -The alteration of jurisdiction in 1764 could -not affect private property.... The transferring -or alienation of property is a sacred prerogative -of the true owner. Kings and Governors -cannot intermeddle therewith.... We have a -petition lying before his Majesty and Council for -redress of our grievances for several years past. -In Moore's time, the King forbid New York to -patent any lands before granted by New Hampshire. -This a supercedeas of Common Law. -King notifying New York he takes cognizance -and will settle and forbids New York to meddle: -common sense teaches a common law, judgment -after that, if it prevailed, would be subversive of -royal authority. So all officers coming to dispossess -are violaters of law. Right and wrong are -externally the same. We are not opposing you -and your Government, but a party chiefly attorneys. -We hear you applied to assembly for -armed force to subdue us in vain. We choose -Captain Stephen Fay and Mr. Jonas Fay, to treat -with you in person. We entreat your aid to quiet -us in our farms till the King decides it.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p></div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span></p> -<p>The embassy was successful. The council -advised that all legal processes against Vermont -should cease. If Bennington was happy -in May over the invitation, Bennington was jubilant -in August over the kindly advice. The -air rang with shouts; the health of governor -and council was drunk and cannon and small-arms -were heard everywhere. No part of New -York colony was happier or more devotedly -British. Two years had passed since the New -York Supreme Court had adjudged all the Vermont -legal documents null and void: one year -had passed since New York had sent a sheriff -and posse with hundreds of citizens to force -Vermont farmers from their farms, but both -of these affairs occurred under Governor Clinton. -Now perhaps, the Vermonters thought, -the new governor was going to act fairly: there -would be no more fights; no more watching and -guarding against midnight attacks; no more -need of fire-arms; and wives and babes would -be safe. There would be no more kidnapping -of Green Mountain Boys and hurrying them -away to Albany jail; no more foreign surveying -of the lands they tilled and loved.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span></p> - - <div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a><a href="#CONTENTS">CHAPTER V.</a></h2> - -<p class="pfs70">THE RAID UPON COLONEL REID'S SETTLERS.—ALLEN'S -OUTLAWRY.—CREAN BRUSH.—PHILIP SKENE.</p> - - -<p>But "best laid schemes of mice and men -gang aft agley." While these negotiations -were pending, New Yorkers were quietly doing -the necessary work for stealing more Vermont -lands. Cockburn, the Scotch New York -surveyor, was surveying land along Otter -Creek. The Green Mountain Boys heard of -it, rallied, and overtook him near Vergennes, -and found Colonel Reid's Scotchmen enjoying -mills and farms. For three years these -foreigners had been there. In 1769, with no -legal title, they had found, seized, and enjoyed -the land, with a mill. Vermonters had then -rallied and dispossessed these dispossessors, -but a second raid of Reid's men redispossessed -them. In the summer of 1772, Vermont, -seizing Cockburn, turned out Reid's -tenants, broke up mill-stones and threw them -over the falls, razed houses, and burned crops.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Scotch story is as follows: John Cameron -made affidavit that he and some other -families from Scotland arrived at New York -in the latter part of June, and a few days afterward -agreed with Lieutenant-Colonel Reid to -settle as tenants on his lands on Otter Creek, -in Charlotte County. Reid went with them -to Otter Creek, some miles east from Crown -Point, and was at considerable expense in -transporting them, their wives, children, and -baggage. The day after their arrival at Otter -Creek they were viewing the land, where they -saw a crop of Indian corn, wheat, and garden -stuff, and a stack of hay and two New England -men. Reid paid these two men $15 for their -crops, the men agreeing to leave until the -king's pleasure should be known. Reid made -over these crops to his new tenants, gave -them possession of the land in presence of two -justices of the peace of Charlotte County, and -bought some provisions and cows for his -tenants. On or about the 11th of August, -armed men from different parts of the country -came and turned James Henderson and others -out of their homes, burnt the houses to the -ground, and for two days pastured fifty horses -which they had brought with them in a field of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> -corn which Reid had bought. They also burnt -a large stack of hay, purchased by Reid. -The next day the rioters, headed by their captains, -Allen, Baker, and Warner, came to -Cameron's house, destroyed the new grist-mill, -built by Reid (Baker insisting upon it), broke -the mill-stones in pieces and threw them down -a precipice into the river. The rioters then -turned out Cameron's wife and two small -children, and burnt the house, having in the -two days burnt five houses, two corn shades, -and one stack of hay. When Cameron, much -incensed, asked by what authority of law they -committed such violences, Baker replied that -they lived out of the bounds of law, and holding -up his gun said that was his law. He -further declared that they were resolved never -to allow any persons claiming under New York -to settle in that part of the province, but if -Cameron would join them, they would give -him lands for nothing. This offer Cameron -rejected. While the rioters were destroying his -house and mill on the Crown Point (west) side -of Otter Creek, he heard six men ordered to -go with arms and stand as sentinels on a rising -ground toward Crown Point, to prevent any -surprise from the troops in the garrison there.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> -Having destroyed Cameron's house and the -mill, the rioters recrossed the river. Cameron -reports that he saw among the rioters Joshua -Hide, who had agreed in writing with Reid -not to return, and had received payment for -his crop. Hide was very active in advising -the destruction of Cameron's house and the -mill.</p> - -<p>Cameron stayed about three weeks at Otter -Creek, after the rioters dispersed, hoping to -hear from Reid, and hoping also that New -York would protect him and his fellow-settlers, -but having no house, and being exposed to the -night air, the fever and ague soon compelled -him to retire. Some of his companions went -before, the rest were to follow. What became -of his wife and children he does not state. -Cameron stayed one night at the house of a -Mr. Irwin, on the east shore of the lake, five -miles north of Crown Point. Irwin, an elderly -man, holding a New Hampshire title, told -Cameron that Reid had a narrow escape, for -Baker with eight men had laid in wait for him -a whole day, near the mouth of Otter Creek, -determined to murder him, and the men in the -boat with him, on their way back to Crown -Point, so that none might remain to tell tales.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> -Fortunately Reid had left the day before. Irwin -disapproved of such bloody intentions, and -said if his land was confirmed to a Yorker, he -would either buy the Yorker's title or move -off.</p> - -<p>James Henderson, settler under Colonel -Reid, deposed that on Wednesday, August 11, -he and three others of Colonel Reid's settlers -were at work at their hay in the meadow, -when twenty men, armed with guns, swords, -and pistols, surprised them. They inquired -if Henderson and his companions lived in the -house some time before occupied by Joshua -Hide. They replied no, the men who lived -in that house were about their business. The -rioters then told Henderson and his companions -that they must go along with them (as they -could not understand the women), and marched -them prisoners, guarded before and behind -like criminals, to the house, where they joined -the rest of the mob, in number about one hundred -or more, all armed as before, and who, -as Henderson was told by the women, had let -their horses loose in the corn and wheat that -Reid had bought for his settlers. The mob -desired the things to be taken out of the -house, and then set the house on fire. Ethan<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> -Allen, the ringleader or captain, then ordered -part of his gang to go with Henderson to his -own house (formerly built and occupied by -Captain Gray) in order to prepare it for the -same fate. Henderson and his wife earnestly -requested the mob to spare their house for a -few days, in order to save their effects and -protect their children from the inclemency -of the weather, until they could have an opportunity -of removing themselves to some -safe place; but Captain Allen, coming up from -the fore-mentioned house, told them that his -business required haste; for he and his gang -were determined not to leave a house belonging -to Colonel Reid standing. Then the mob -set fire to and entirely consumed Henderson's -house. Henderson took out his memorandum -book and desired to know their ringleader's -or captain's name. The captain answered: -"Who gave you authority to ask for my -name?" Henderson replied that as he took -him to be the ringleader of the mob, and as he -had in such a riotous and unlawful manner -dispossessed him, he had a right to ask his -name, that he might represent him to Colonel -Reid, who had put him, Henderson, in peaceable -possession of the premises as his just<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> -property. Allen answered, he wished they -had caught Colonel Reid; they would have -whipped him severely; that his name was -Ethan Allen, captain of that mob, and that -his authority was his own arms, pointing to -his gun; that he and his companions were a -lawless mob, their law being mob law. Henderson -replied that the law was made for lawless -and riotous people, and that he must know -it was death by the law to ringleaders of -rioters and lawless mobs. Allen answered -that he had run these woods in the same manner -these seven years past [this would carry -it back to the year 1766, when Zadoc Thompson -says Allen's family was living in Sheffield] -and never was caught yet; and he told Henderson -that if any of Colonel Reid's settlers -offered hereafter to build any house and keep -possession, the Green Mountain Boys, as they -call themselves, would burn their houses and -whip them into the bargain. The mob then -burnt the house formerly built and occupied -by Lewis Stewart, and remained that night -about Leonard's house. The next day, about -seven <span class="fs70">A.M.</span>, August 12, Henderson went to -Leonard's house. The mob were all drawn -up, consulting about destroying the mill.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> -Those who were in favor of it were ordered -to follow Captain Allen. In the mean time -Baker and his gang came to the opposite side -of the river and fired their guns. They were -brought over at once, and while they were -taking some refreshment, Allen's party -marched to the mill, but did not break up -any part of it until Allen joined them. The -two mobs having joined (by their own account -one hundred and fifty in number), with -axes, crow-bars, and handspikes tore the mill -to pieces, broke the mill-stones and threw them -into the creek. Baker came out of the mill -with the bolt-cloth in his hands. With his -sword he cut it in pieces and distributed it -among the mob to wear in their hats like cockades, -as trophies of the victory. Henderson -told Baker he was about very disagreeable -work. Baker replied it was so, but he had a -commission for so doing, and showed Henderson -where his thumb had been cut off, -which he called his commission.</p> - -<p>Angus McBean, settler under Colonel Reid, -deposed that between seven and eight <span class="fs70">A.M.</span>, -Thursday, August 12 last, he met a part of -the New England mob about Leonard's house, -sixty men or thereabouts, he supposed, armed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> -with guns, swords, and pistols. One of them -asked Angus if he were one of Colonel Reid's -new settlers, and having been told he was, -asked him what he intended to do. McBean -replied he intended to build himself a house -and keep possession of the land. He was then -asked if he intended to keep possession for -Colonel Reid. He replied yes, as long as he -could. Soon after their chief leader, Allen, -came and asked him if he was the man that -said he would keep possession for Colonel Reid. -McBean said yes. Allen then damned his -soul, but he would have him, McBean, tied to -a tree and skinned alive, if he ever attempted -such a thing. Allen and several of the mob -said, if they could but catch Colonel Reid, -they would cut his head off. Joshua Hide, -one of the persons of whom Colonel Reid -bought the crop, advised the mob to tear down -or burn the houses of Donald McIntosh and -John Burdan, as they both had been assisting -Colonel Reid. Soon after several guns were -fired on the other side of the creek. Some of -the mob said that was Captain Baker and his -party coming to see the sport. Soon Baker -and his party joined the mob, and all went to -tear down the grist-mill. McBean thought<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> -Baker was one of the first that entered the -mill.</p> - -<p>However strong our indignation at the New -York usurpations, we cannot read of the violent -ejectment of families without a feeling of -repugnance to such a method. Turn to the -vivid and romantic account of Colonel Reid's -settlement in "The Tory's Daughter," and remember -that in civil strife the innocent must -often suffer. The Green Mountain Boys' immunity -from the penalty of the law for their -riotous acts shows not only their adroitness, -but suggests half-heartedness in their pursuit. -Laws not supported by public sentiment are -rarely enforced.</p> - -<p>John Munroe wrote to Duane during the -Clarendon proceedings:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>The rioters have a great many friends in the -county of Albany, and particularly in the city of -Albany, which encourages them in their wickedness, -at the same time hold offices under the Government, -and pretend to be much against them, -but at heart I know them to be otherwise, for the -rioters have often told me, that be it known to me, -that they had more friends in Albany than I had, -which I believe to be true.</p></div> - -<p>Hugh Munro lived near the west line of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> -Shaftsbury. He took Surveyor Campbell to -survey land in Rupert for him. He was seized -by Cochran, who said he was a son of Robin -Hood, and beaten. Ira Allen says Munro -fainted from whipping by bush twigs. Munro -had not a savory reputation with the Vermonters. -After Tryon's offer of a reward for the -arrest of Allen, Baker, and Cochran, he, with -ten or twelve other men, had seized Baker, -who lived ten or twelve miles from him, a -mile east of Arlington. After a march of sixteen -miles, they were met by ten Bennington -men, who arrested Munro and Constable Stevens, -the rest of the party fleeing. Later Warner -and one man rode to Munro's and asked -for Baker's gun. Munro refused, and seizing -Warner's bridle ordered the constable to arrest -Warner, who drew his cutlass and felled -Munro to the ground. For this act of Warner's, -Poultney voted him one hundred acres -of land April 4, 1773.</p> - -<p>In 1774 Allen published a pamphlet of over -two hundred pages, in which he rehearsed -many historical facts tending to show that -previous to the royal order of 1764, New -York had no claim to extend easterly to the -Connecticut River. He portrayed in strong<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> -light the oppressive conduct of New York -toward the settlers. This pamphlet also contained -the answer of himself and of his associates -to the Act of Outlawry of March, 1774. -Another man was busy this year drawing up -reports of the trouble in Vermont.</p> - -<p>Crean Brush, the first Vermont lawyer, was -a colonel, a native of Dublin. In 1762 he -came to New York and became assistant secretary -of the colony; in 1771-74 he practised -law in Westminster, Vt. He claimed thousands -of Vermont acres under New York titles, -and became county clerk, surrogate, and provincial -member of Congress. He was in Boston -jail nineteen months for plundering Boston -whigs, and finally escaped in his wife's dress. -The British commander in New York told -him his conduct merited more punishment. -A Yorker, always fighting the Green Mountain -Boys; a tory, always fighting the whigs; -with fair culture and talent, he became a sot, -and, at the age of fifty-three, in 1778, he blew -his brains out, in New York City. He left a -step-daughter who became the second wife of -Ethan Allen.</p> - -<p>On February 5, 1774, Brush reported to the -New York Legislature resolutions to the effect<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> -"that riotousness exists in part of Charlotte -County and northeast Albany County, calling -for redress; that a Bennington mob has terrorized -officers, rescued debtors, assumed military -command and judicial power, burned -houses, beat citizens, expelled thousands, -stopped the administration of justice; that -anti-rioters are in danger in person and property -and need protection. Wherefore the -Governor is petitioned to offer fifty pounds -reward for the apprehension and lodgment in -Albany jail of Ethan Allen, Seth Warner, Remember -Baker, Robert Cochran, Peleg Sunderland, -Silvanus Brown, James Breakenridge, -and John Smith, either or any of them." It -was ordered that Brush and Colonel Ten Eyck -report a bill for the suppression of riotous and -disorderly proceedings. Captain Delaney and -Mr. Walton were appointed to present the address -and resolutions to the governor.</p> - -<p>A committee met March 1, 1774, at Eliakim -Weller's house in Manchester, adjourning to -the third Wednesday at Captain Jehial Hawley's -in Arlington. Nathan Clark was chairman -of the committee and Jonas Clark clerk. -The <cite>New York Mercury</cite>, No. 1,163, with the -foregoing report in it, was produced and read.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> -Seven of the committee were chosen to examine -it and prepare a report, which was adopted -and ordered published in the public papers. -They speak of their misfortune in being annexed -to New York, and hope that the king -will adopt the report of the Board of Trade, -made December 3, 1772. In consequence, -hundreds of settled families, many of them -comparatively wealthy, resolved to defend the -outlawed men. All were ready at a minute's -warning. They resolved to act on the defensive -only, and to encourage the execution of law -in civil cases and in real criminal cases. They -advised the General Assembly to wait for the -king's decision. The committee declared that -they were all loyal to their political father; but -that as they bought of the first governor appointed -by the king, on the faith of the crown, -they will maintain those grants; that New -York has acted contrary to the spirit of the -good laws of Great Britain. This declaration -was certified by the chairman and clerk, at -Bennington, April 14, 1774.</p> - -<p>It was in 1774 that a new plan was formed -for escaping from the government of New -York; a plan that startles us by its audacity and -its comprehensiveness. This was to establish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> -a new royal colony extending from the Connecticut -to Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence, -from forty-five degrees of north latitude to -Massachusetts and the Mohawk River. The -plan was formed by Allen and other Vermonters. -At that time Colonel Philip Skene, a retired -British officer, was living at Whitehall -on a large patent of land. To him the Vermonters -communicated the project. Whitehall -was to be the capital and Skene the governor -of the projected colony. Skene, at his -own expense, went to London, and was appointed -governor of Ticonderoga and Crown -Point, but the course of public events prevented -the completion of this scheme.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span></p> - - <div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a><a href="#CONTENTS">CHAPTER VI.</a></h2> - -<p class="pfs70">PREPARATIONS TO CAPTURE TICONDEROGA.—DIARY -OF EDWARD MOTT.—EXPEDITIONS PLANNED.—BENEDICT -ARNOLD.—GERSHOM BEACH.</p> - - -<p>On March 29, 1775, John Brown, a Massachusetts -lawyer, wrote from Montreal to Boston:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>The people on the New Hampshire Grants have -engaged to seize the fort at Ticonderoga as soon -as possible, should hostilities be committed by the -king's troops.</p></div> - -<p>The most minute account of the preparations -to capture Ticonderoga is furnished by -the diary for April, 1775, of Edward Mott, of -Preston, Conn., a captain in Colonel S. H. -Parson's regiment. He had been at the camp -of the American army beleaguering Boston; -took charge of the expedition to seize Ticonderoga; -reported its success to Governor -Trumbull at Hartford; was sent by Trumbull -to Congress at Philadelphia with the -news; resumed the command of his company<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> -at Ticonderoga in May; was with the Northern -army during the campaign; was at the -taking of Chambly and St. Johns; and became -a major in Colonel Gray's regiment next year.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Preston</span>, Friday, April 28, 1775.</p> - -<p>Set out for Hartford, where I arrived the same -day. Saw Christopher Leffingwell, who inquired -of me about the situation of the people at Boston. -When I had given him an account, he asked me -how they could be relieved and where I thought -we could get artillery and stores. I told him I -knew not unless we went and took possession of -Ticonderoga and Crown Point, which I thought -might be done by surprise with a small number of -men. Mr. Leffingwell left me and in a short time -came to me again, and brought with him Samuel -H. Parsons and Silas Deane, Esqrs. When he -asked me if I would undertake in such an expedition -as we had talked of before, I told him I -would. They told me they wished I had been -there one day sooner; that they had been on such -a plan; and that they had sent off Messrs. Noah -Phelps and Bernard Romans, whom they had supplied -with £300 in cash from the treasury, and -ordered them to draw for more if they should need; -that said Phelps and Romans had gone by the way -of Salisbury, where they would make a stop. They -expected a small number of men would join them, -and if I would go after them they would give me -an order or letter to them to join with them and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> -to have my voice with them in conducting the -affair and in laying out the money; and also that -I might take five or six men with me. On which -I took with me Mr. Jeremiah Halsey, Mr. Epaphras -Bull, Mr. Wm. Nichols, Mr. Elijah Babcock, and -John Bigelow joined me; and Saturday, the 29th -of April, in the afternoon, we set out on said expedition. -Mr. Babcock tired his horse. We got -another horse of Esq. Humphrey in Norfolk, and -that day arrived at Salisbury; tarried all night, -and the next day, having augmented our company -to the number of sixteen in the whole, we concluded -it was not best to add any more, as we meant -to keep our business a secret and ride through -the country unarmed till we came to the New -Settlements on the Grants. We arrived at Mr. -Dewey's in Sheffield, and there we sent off Mr. -Jer. Halsey and Capt. John Stevens to go to Albany, -in order to discover the temper of the people -in that place, and to return and inform us as soon -as possible.</p> - -<p>That night (Monday the 1st of May) we arrived -at Col. Easton's in Pittsfield, where we fell in company -with John Brown, Esq., who had been at -Canada and Ticonderoga about a month before; on -which we concluded to make known our business -to Col. Easton and said Brown and to take their -advice on the same. I was advised by Messrs. -Deane, Leffingwell, and Parsons not to raise our -men till we came to the New Hampshire Grants, -lest we should be discovered by having too long a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> -march through the country. But when we advised -with the said Easton and Brown they advised -us that, as there was a great scarcity of provisions -in the Grants, and as the people were generally -poor, it would be difficult to get a sufficient number -of men there; therefore we had better raise a -number of men sooner. Said Easton and Brown -concluded to go with us, and Easton said he would -assist me in raising some men in his regiment. -We then concluded for me to go with Col. Easton -to Jericho and Williamstown to raise men, and -the rest of us to go forward to Bennington and -see if they could purchase provisions there.</p> - -<p>We raised twenty-four men in Jericho and fifteen -in Williamstown; got them equipped ready -to march. Then Col. Easton and I set out for Bennington. -That evening we met with an express -for our people informing us that they had seen a -man directly from Ticonderoga and he informed -them that they were re-enforced at Ticonderoga, -and were repairing the garrison, and were every -way on their guard; therefore it was best for us -to dismiss the men we had raised and proceed no -further, as we should not succeed. I asked who -the man was, where he belonged, and where he -was going, but could get no account; on which I -ordered that the men should not be dismissed, but -that we should proceed. The next day I arrived -at Bennington. There overtook our people, all -but Mr. Noah Phelps and Mr. Heacock, who were -gone forward to reconnoitre the fort: and Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> -Halsey and Mr. Stevens had not got back from -Albany.</p></div> - -<p>The following account of expenses incurred -on this expedition is amusing, pitiful, and interesting, -as evidence of the small beginnings -of the Revolution, and as compared with the -machinery of transportation and the wealth of -the nation in its Civil War:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Account of Captain Edward Mott for his expenses -going to Ticonderoga and afterwards -against the Colony of Connecticut:</p> - - -<div class="center"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="100%" summary=""> -<tr><td class="tdlx"></td><td class="tdr">£</td><td class="tdr">s.</td><td class="tdr">d.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">April 26th.—To expenses from Preston to Hartford</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td><td class="tdr">5</td><td class="tdr">0</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdly">Expenses at Hartford while consulting what plan to take, - or where it would be best to raise the men</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td><td class="tdr">15</td><td class="tdr">0</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">April 30th.—To expenses of six men at New Hartford on - our way to New Hampshire Grants to raise men ($3)</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td><td class="tdr">18</td><td class="tdr">0</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">May 1st.—To expenses at Norfolk ($2.50)</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td><td class="tdr">15</td><td class="tdr">0</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdly">To expenses at Shaftsbury</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td><td class="tdr">7</td><td class="tdr">8</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdly">To expenses in Jericho while raising men</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td><td class="tdr">0</td><td class="tdr">5</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdly">To expenses of marching men from Jericho to Williamstown</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td><td class="tdr">4</td><td class="tdr">0</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> - May 1st.—To expenses at Allentown</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td><td class="tdr">6</td><td class="tdr">8</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdly">To expenses at Massachusetts</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td><td class="tdr">4</td><td class="tdr">6</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdly"> " " " Newport</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td><td class="tdr">16</td><td class="tdr">0</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdly"> " " " Pawlet</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td><td class="tdr">3</td><td class="tdr">3</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdly"> " " " Castleton</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td><td class="tdr">6</td><td class="tdr">0</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdly">To cash to a teamster for carting provisions</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td><td class="tdr">6</td><td class="tdr">0</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdly">To cash to Captain Noah Phelps £1 and to Elijah Babcock £6</td> - <td class="tdr">7</td><td class="tdr">0</td><td class="tdr">0</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdly">To cash to Colonel Ethan Allen's wife</td> - <td class="tdr">3</td><td class="tdr">0</td><td class="tdr">0</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdly">To a horse cost me £20 in cash ($66.66), which I wore out in riding - to raise the men and going to Ticonderoga, so that I was obliged to - leave her and get another horse to ride back to Hartford</td> - <td class="tdr">20</td><td class="tdr">0</td><td class="tdr">0</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdly">To my expenses from Ticonderoga back to Hartford after we had taken the fort</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td><td class="tdr">0</td><td class="tdr">0</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdly">To my time or wages while going on said service, and going from Hartford - to Philadelphia to report to Congress by Governor Trumbull's orders, - being between thirty and forty days, much of the time day and night</td> - <td class="tdr">20</td><td class="tdr">0</td><td class="tdr">0</td></tr> -</table></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span></p> - -<p>The 3d of May, 1775, is an eventful day. -Four scenes interest us. At Albany there is -hesitation. Halsey and Stevens have been -there to obtain permission for the Ticonderoga -expedition. The Albany committee-men -are alarmed, for the proposition seems to -be hazardous. What will the New York Congress -think of it? Will the next Continental -Congress, to meet seven days hence, approve -of it? The committee write to the New York -Congress for instructions, suggesting that if -New York goes in for the invasion it will -plunge northern New York into all the horrors -of war.</p> - -<p>A second scene is at Cambridge. The Committee -of Safety, without waiting for permission -from New York, decided to act. They -issue a commission to Arnold without consulting -the Massachusetts Congress, and authorize -him to raise four hundred men in western -Massachusetts and near colonies for the capture -of Ticonderoga and Crown Point; they -give him money and authority to seize and -send military stores to Massachusetts. We -can imagine Arnold quickly in the saddle, for -the enterprise suits his genius.</p> - -<p>Benedict Arnold was now thirty-five years<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> -old; educated in the common schools, apprenticed -as a druggist, fond of mischief, -cruel, irritable, reckless of his reputation, -ambitious and uncontrollable. As a boy he -loved to maim young birds, placed broken -glass where school-children would cut their -feet, and enticed them with presents and then -rushed out and horsewhipped them. He -would cling to the arms of a large water-wheel -at the grist-mill and thus pass beneath and -above the water. When sixteen years of age -he enlisted as a soldier, was released; enlisted -again, was at Ticonderoga and other frontier -forts; deserted; served out his apprenticeship, -became a druggist and general merchant in -New Haven; shipped horses, cattle, and provisions -to the West Indies, commanded his -own vessels, fought a duel with a Frenchman -in the West Indies, became a bankrupt, and -was suspected of dishonesty. Fertile in resource, -he resumed business with energy but -with the same obliquity of moral purpose.</p> - -<p>With sixty volunteers, a few of them Yale -students, marching from New Haven to Cambridge, -he had an interview with Colonel -Samuel H. Parsons near Hartford the 27th of -April, and told him about the cannon and am<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span>munition -at Ticonderoga and the defenceless -condition of that fort. Such was the man who -endeavored to wrest the command of the expedition -from Allen.</p> - -<p>But the grandest scene of all on that 3d of -May is the assemblage in Bennington, perhaps -in the old Catamount Tavern of Stephen -Fay. Allen, Warner, Robinson, Dr. Jonas Fay, -Joseph Fay, Breakenridge are there with fifteen -Connecticut men and thirty-nine Massachusetts -men. Easton's Massachusetts men outnumber -Warner's recruits, and Warner ranks third -instead of second. No one dreams of any one -but Allen for the leader. Easton is also complimented -by being made chairman of the -council. Allen with his usual energy takes -the initiative and leaves the party to raise -more men. He has been gone but a short -time when Benedict Arnold arrives on horseback -with one attendant at the hamlet and -camp of Castleton. He sees Nott and other -officers. They frankly communicate to him all -their plans, and are in turn astounded by -Arnold's claiming the right to take command -of their whole force. He shows them his commission -from the Committee of Safety in Cambridge, -Mass. This paper gave authority to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> -enlist men, but no more power over these men -than any other American volunteers. Arnold's -temper brooked no opposition. There is almost -a mutiny among the men. They would -go home, abandon the whole expedition which -had so enkindled their enthusiasm, rather than -be subject to Arnold. Whether this was -owing to his domineering temper as exhibited -before them, to his reputation in Connecticut -as an unprincipled man, or entirely to their -regard for their own officers and aversion -to others, we can only conjecture. Tuesday -morning this wrangling is resumed. Again -the soldiers threaten to club their guns and -go home. When told that they should be paid -the same, although Arnold did command them, -they would "damn" their pay. But Arnold suddenly -started to leave this company and overtake -Allen. The soldiers, knowing Allen's -good-nature, as suddenly leave Castleton and -follow Arnold to prevent his overpersuading -Allen to yield to his arrogance.</p> - -<p>When this stampede occurred, Nott and -Phelps with Herrick were with the thirty -men on the march to Skenesborough. They -left the Remington camp at Castleton, and -had gone nearly to Hydeville. The stampede<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> -left all the provisions at Castleton, so that -Nott and Phelps were obliged to return to -Castleton, gather up the provisions, and follow -the main party to Ticonderoga. They arrived -in Shoreham too late to take part in the capture, -but crossed the lake with Warner. This -incident deprives us of the benefit of Nott's -journal account of the capture itself, a loss to -be deplored. Some time Tuesday, somewhere -between Castleton and the lake, Allen and -Arnold met, and the scene occurred which has -been so often and so well told in romance and -history.</p> - -<p>Within three weeks after the world-renowned -19th of April, 1775, Ethan stood in Castleton -with an old friend by his side, Gershom Beach, -of Rutland, a whig blacksmith, intelligent, -capable, and true. Besides some sixty Massachusetts -and Connecticut allies, Allen is surrounded -by from one to two hundred Green -Mountain Boys. More men were wanted, and -Beach was selected from the willing and eager -crowd to go, like Roderick Dhu's messenger -with the Cross of Fire, o'er hill and dale, -across brook and swamp, from Castleton to -Rutland, Pittsford, Brandon, Middlebury, and -Shoreham. The distance was sixty miles, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> -time allowed twenty-four hours, the rallying-point -a ravine at Hand's Point, Shoreham. -Paul Revere rode on a good steed, over good -roads, on a moonlight night, in a few hours. -Gershom Beach went on foot, crossed Otter -Creek twice, forded West Creek, East Creek, -Furnace Brook, Neshobe River, Leicester -River, Middlebury River, and walked through -forests choked with underbrush, but at the end -of the day allotted the men were warned and -were hastening to the rendezvous. Then and -not till then Beach threw himself on the -ground and gave himself up to well-earned -sleep. Let us give this hero his full meed -of praise. After a few hours' rest he followed -the men whom he had aroused and -joined Allen.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span></p> - - <div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a><a href="#CONTENTS">CHAPTER VII.</a></h2> - -<p class="pfs70">CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA.</p> - - -<p>In the gray of the morning, Wednesday, -May 10, 1775, Ethan Allen with eighty-three -Green Mountain Boys crossed the lake. He -frankly told his followers of the danger, but -every gun was poised to dare that danger. Soon -three huzzas rang out on the parade-ground of -the sleeping fort. The English captain, De -Laplace, not knowing that his nation had an -enemy on this continent, asked innocently by -what authority his surrender was demanded. -Need I repeat the answer? No words in the -language are more familiar than Allen's reply. -The British colors were trailed before a power -that had no national flag for more than two -years afterward. A few hours later, that same -day, the second session of the Continental Congress -began at Philadelphia, the members all -unaware and soon in part disapproving of this -exploit of Allen's. The graphic account by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> -the hero's own, pen is more life-like than that -of any historian:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>The first systematical and bloody attempt at -Lexington to enslave America thoroughly electrified -my mind, and fully determined me to take -part with my country. And while I was wishing -for an opportunity to signalize myself in its behalf, -directions were privately sent to me from the -then colony of Connecticut to raise the Green -Mountain Boys, and if possible with them to surprise -and take the fortress of Ticonderoga. This -enterprise I cheerfully undertook; and after first -guarding all the passes that led thither, to cut off -all intelligence between the garrison and the country, -made a forced march from Bennington and arrived -at the lake opposite to Ticonderoga on the -evening of the ninth day of May, 1775, with two -hundred and thirty valiant Green Mountain Boys.</p> - -<p>It was with the utmost difficulty that I procured -boats to cross the lake. However, I landed eighty-three -men near the garrison, and sent the boats -back for the rear guard, commanded by Col. Seth -Warner, but the day began to dawn and I found -myself under a necessity to attack the fort before -the rear could cross the lake, and, as it was viewed -hazardous, I harangued the officers and soldiers -in the following manner:</p> - -<p>"Friends and fellow-soldiers, you have for a -number of years past been a scourge and terror to -arbitrary power. Your valor has been famed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> -abroad and acknowledged, as appears by the advice -and orders to me from the General Assembly -of Connecticut to surprise and take the garrison -now before us. I now propose to advance before -you, and in person conduct you through the wicket-gate; -for we must this morning either quit our -pretensions to valor or possess ourselves of this -fortress in a few minutes; and inasmuch as it is -a desperate attempt which none but the bravest -of men dare undertake, I do not urge it on any contrary -to his will. You that will undertake voluntarily, -poise your firelocks."</p> - -<p>The men being at this time drawn up in three -ranks, each poised his firelock. I ordered them to -face to the right, and at the head of the centre file -marched them immediately to the wicket-gate -aforesaid, where I found a sentry posted who instantly -snapped his fusee at me. I ran immediately -toward him, and he retreated through the -covered way into the parade within the garrison, -gave a halloo, and ran under a bomb-proof. My -party who followed me into the fort I formed on -the parade in such a manner as to face the two barracks, -which faced each other. The garrison being -asleep, except the sentries, we gave three huzzas, -which greatly surprised them. One of the sentries -made a pass at one of my officers with a charge -bayonet, and slightly wounded him. My first -thought was to kill him with my sword, but in an -instant I altered the design and fury of the blow -to a slight cut on the side of the head; upon which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> -he dropped his gun and asked quarter, which I -readily granted him, and demanded of him the -place where the commanding officer kept.</p> - -<p>He showed me a pair of stairs in front of the -barrack, on the west part of the garrison, which -led up to a second story in said barrack, to which -I immediately repaired, and ordered the commander, -Captain De la Place, to come forth instantly, -or I would sacrifice the whole garrison; -at which the captain came immediately to the -door with his breeches in his hand, when I ordered -him to deliver me the fort instantly; he asked me -by what authority I demanded it; I answered him, -In the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental -Congress. The authority of the Congress -being very little known at that time, he began to -speak again, but I interrupted him, and with my -drawn sword over his head again demanded an -immediate surrender of the garrison: with which -he then complied and ordered his men to be forthwith -paraded without arms, as he had given up -the garrison.</p> - -<p>In the mean time some of my officers had given -orders, and in consequence thereof sundry of the -barrack doors were beaten down, and about one-third -of the garrison imprisoned, which consisted -of the said commander, a Lieut. Feltham, a conducter -of artillery, a gunner, two sergeants, and -forty-four rank and file: about one hundred pieces -of cannon, one thirteen-inch mortar, and a number -of swords.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></p> - -<p>This surprise was carried into execution in the -gray of the morning of the tenth day of May, 1775. -The sun seemed to rise that morning with a superior -lustre: and Ticonderoga and its dependencies -smiled on its conquerors, who tossed about -the flowing bowl, and wished success to Congress, -and the liberty and freedom of America. Happy -it was for me at that time, that the then future -pages of the book of fate, which afterwards unfolded -a miserable scene of two years and eight -months' imprisonment, were hid from my view. -But to return to my narrative. Col. Warner, with -the rear guard, crossed the lake and joined me -early in the morning, whom I sent off without loss -of time with about one hundred men to take possession -of Crown Point, which was garrisoned with -a sergeant and twelve men; which he took possession -of the same day, as also of upwards of one -hundred pieces of cannon.</p></div> - -<p>The soldierly qualities exhibited by Allen -in the expedition seem to have been, first, -reticence or concealment of purpose from the -enemy; second, power of commanding enthusiastic -obedience from his men; third, adaptation -of means to object; fourth, alacrity; and, fifth, -courage. Success gave a brilliant <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">éclat</i> to this -effort, which time has only served to render -more brilliant.</p> - -<p>The following letters written by Allen fur<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>nish -us with additional information which -makes the whole affair stand out vividly for -nineteenth-century readers:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Ticonderoga</span>, May 11th, 1775.</p> - -<p class="noindent"><em>To the Massachusetts Congress.</em></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Gentlemen</span>:—I have to inform you with pleasure -unfelt before, that on break of day of the 10th of -May, 1775, by the order of the General Assembly -of the Colony of Connecticut, I took the fortress of -Ticonderoga by storm. The soldiery was composed -of about one hundred Green Mountain Boys -and near fifty veteran soldiers from the Province -of the Massachusetts Bay. The latter was under -the command of Col. James Easton, who behaved -with great zeal and fortitude not only in council, -but in the assault. The soldiery behaved -with such resistless fury, that they so terrified the -King's Troops that they durst not fire on their assailants, -and our soldiery was agreeably disappointed. -The soldiery behaved with uncommon -rancour when they leaped into the Fort: and it -must be confessed that the Colonel has greatly -contributed to the taking of that Fortress, as well -as John Brown, Esq. Attorney at Law, who was -also an able counsellor, and was personally in the -attack. I expect the Colonies will maintain this -Fort. As to the cannon and warlike stores, I hope -they may serve the cause of liberty instead of -tyranny, and I humbly implore your assistance in -immediately assisting the Government of Connect<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>icut -in establishing a garrison in the reduced -premises. Col. Easton will inform you at large.</p> - -<p>From, gentlemen, your most obedient servant,</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Ethan Allen</span>.</p> -</div> - - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Ticonderoga</span>, May 12th, 1775.</p> - -<p class="negin1"><em>To the Honorable Congress of the Province of the -Massachusetts Bay or Council of War.</em></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Honorable Sirs</span>:—I make you a present of a -major, a captain, and two lieutenants in the regular -establishment for George the Third. I hope -they may serve as ransomes for some of our friends -at Boston, and particularly for Captain Brown of -Rhode Island. A party of men under the command -of Capt. Herrick has took possession of -Skenesborough, imprisoned Major Skene, and -seized a schooner of his. I expect in ten days -time to have it rigged, manned, and armed with -six or eight pieces of cannon, which, with the -boats in our possession, I purpose to make an attack -on the armed sloop of George the Third which -is now cruising on Lake Champlain, and is about -twice as big as the schooner. I hope in a short -time to be authorized to acquaint your Honor that -Lake Champlain and the fortifications thereon are -subjected to the Colonies. The enterprise has -been approbated by the officers and soldiery of -the Green Mountain Boys, nor do I hesitate as to -the success. I expect lives must be lost in the -attack, as the commander of George's sloop is a -man of courage, etc. I conclude Capt. Warner<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> -is by this time in possession of Crown Point, the -ordnance, stores, etc. I conclude Governor Carleton -will exert himself to oppose us, and command -the Lake, etc. Messrs. Hickok, Halsey -and Nichols have the charge of conducting the -officers to Hartford. These gentlemen have been -very assiduous and active in the late expedition. -I depend upon your Honor's aid and assistance -in a situation so contiguous to Canada. I subscribe -myself your Honor's ever faithful, most -obedient and humble servant,</p> - -<p class="right padr2"><span class="smcap">Ethan Allen</span>,</p> - -<p class="right"><em>At present Commander of Ticonderoga</em>.</p> - -<p class="negin2 small">To the Honorable Jonathan Trumbull, Esq., Capt. General -and Governor of the Colony of Connecticut.</p> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p> - - <div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a><a href="#CONTENTS">CHAPTER VIII.</a></h2> - -<p class="pfs70">ALLEN'S LETTERS TO THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, -TO THE NEW YORK PROVINCIAL CONGRESS, AND -TO THE MASSACHUSETTS CONGRESS.</p> - - -<p>The Continental Congress, affected by sinister -influences, favored the removal of the -stores and cannon of Ticonderoga to the south -end of Lake George. Allen wrote to Congress -a vigorous remonstrance. Massachusetts, New -Hampshire, and Connecticut protested, and the -project was abandoned. On May 29th, 1775, -from Crown Point, Allen addressed the Continental -Congress as follows:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>An abstract of the action of Congress has just -come to hand: and though it approves of the taking -the fortress on Lake Champlain and the artillery, -etc., I am, nevertheless, much surprised that -your Honors should recommend it to us to remove -the artillery to the south end of Lake George, and -there to make a stand; the consequences of which -must ruin the frontier settlements, which are extended -at least one hundred miles to the northward -from that place. Probably your Honors were not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> -informed of those settlements, which consist of -several thousand families who are seated on that -tract of country called the New Hampshire Grants. -Those inhabitants, by making those valuable acquisitions -for the Colonies, have incensed Governor -Carleton and all the ministerial party in -Canada against them; and provided they should, -after all their good service in behalf of their country, -be neglected and left exposed, they will be of -all men the most consummately miserable....</p> - -<p>If the King's troops be again in possession of -Ticonderoga and Crown Point and command the -Lake, the Indians and Canadians will be much more -inclined to join with them and make incursions -into the heart of our country. But the Colonies -are now in possession and actual command of the -Lake, having taken the armed sloop from George -the Third, which was cruising in the Lake, also -seized a schooner belonging to Major Skene at -South Bay, and have armed and manned them -both.... The Canadians (all except the noblesse) -and also the Indians appear at present to be very -friendly to us; and it is my humble opinion that -the more vigorous the Colonies push the war -against the King's troops in Canada, the more -friends we shall find in that country. Provided I -had but 500 men with me at St. John's (18th May) -when we took the King's sloop, I would have advanced -to Montreal. Nothing strengthens our -friends in Canada equal to our prosperity in taking -the sovereignty of Lake Champlain, and should<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> -the Colonies forthwith send an army of two or -three thousand men and attack Montreal, we should -have little to fear from the Canadians or Indians, -and should easily make a conquest of that place, -and set up the standard of liberty in the extensive -province of Quebec, whose limit was enlarged -purely to subvert the liberties of America. Striking -such a blow would intimidate the Tory party -in Canada, the same as the commencement of the -war at Boston intimidated the Tories in the Colonies. -They are a set of gentlemen that will not be -converted by reason, but are easily wrought upon -by fear.</p> - -<p>By a council of war held on board the sloop the -27th instant, it was agreed to advance to the Point -Aufere with the sloop and schooner, and a number -of armed boats well manned, and there make a -stand, act on the defensive, and by all means command -the Lake and defend the frontiers. Point -Aufere is about six miles this side of forty-five -degrees north latitude, but if the wisdom of the -Continental Congress should view the proposed -invasion of the King's troops in Canada as premature -or impolitic, nevertheless, I humbly conceive, -when your Honors come to the knowledge of the -before-mentioned facts, you will at least establish -some advantageous situation toward the northerly -part of Lake Champlain, as a frontier, instead of -the south promontory of Lake George. Commanding -the northerly part of the Lake, puts it in our -power to work our policy with the Canadians and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> -Indians. We have made considerable proficiency -this way already. Sundry tribes have been to -visit us, and have returned to their tribes to use -their influence in our favor. We have just sent -Capt. Abraham Ninham, a Stockbridge Indian, as -our embassador of peace to the several tribes of -Indians in Canada. He was accompanied by Mr. -Winthrop Hoit, who has been a prisoner with the -Indians and understands their tongue. I do not -imagine, provided we command Lake Champlain, -there will be any need of a war with the Canadians -or Indians.</p></div> - -<p>On June 2, 1775, Allen addressed the New -York Provincial Congress:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>The pork forwarded to subsist the army, by your -Honors' direction, evinces your approbation of -the procedure; and as it was a private expedition, -and common fame reports that there are a number -of overgrown Tories in the province, your Honors -will the readier excuse me in not first taking your -advice in the matter, but the enterprises might -have been prevented by their treachery. It is -here reported that some of them have been lately -savingly converted, and that others have lost their -influence. If in those achievements there be anything -honorary, the subjects of your government, -viz., the New Hampshire settlers, are justly entitled -to a large share, as they had a great majority -of numbers of the soldiery as well as the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> -command in making those acquisitions, and as -your Honors justify and approve the same.</p> - -<p>I desire and expect your Honors have, or soon -will lay before the Grand Continental Congress, -the great disadvantage it must inevitably be to -the Colonies to evacuate Lake Champlain, and -give up to the enemies of our country those invaluable -acquisitions, the key of either Canada or our -country, according as which party holds the same -in possession and makes a proper improvement of -it. The key is ours as yet, and provided the -Colonies would suddenly push an army of two or -three thousand men into Canada, they might make -a conquest of all that would oppose them in the -extensive province of Quebec, except a reinforcement -from England should prevent it. Such a -diversion would weaken General Gage or insure -us of Canada.</p> - -<p>I wish to God America would at this critical -juncture exert herself agreeable to the indignity -offered her by a tyrannical ministry. She might -rise on eagle's wings, and mount up to glory, freedom, -and immortal honor if she did but know and -exert her strength. Fame is now hovering over -her head. A vast continent must now sink to -slavery, poverty, horror, and bondage, or rise to -unconquerable freedom, immense wealth, inexpressible -felicity, and immortal fame.</p> - -<p>I will lay my life on it, with fifteen hundred -men and a proper train of artillery I will take -Montreal. Provided I could be thus furnished and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> -if an army could command the field, it would be -no insuperable difficulty to take Quebec. This -object should be pursued, though it should take -ten thousand men to accomplish the end proposed; -for England cannot spare but a certain number of -her troops, anyway, she has but a small number -that are disciplined [this was months before the -Hessians and other mercenaries were hired], and -it is as long as it is broad the more that are sent to -Quebec, the less they can send to Boston, or any -other part of the continent.</p> - -<p>Our friends in Canada can never help us until -we first help them, except in a passive or inactive -manner. There are now about seven hundred -regular troops in Canada. I have lately had -sundry conferences with the Indians; they are -very friendly. Capt. Abraham Ninham, a Stockbridge -Indian, and Mr. Winthrop Hoit, who has -sundry years lived with the Caughnawgoes in the -capacity of a prisoner and was made an adopted -son to a motherly squaw of that tribe, have both -been gone ten days to treat with the Indians as -our embassadors of peace and friendship. I expect -in a few weeks to hear from them. By them -I sent a friendly letter to the Indians which Mr. -Hoit can explain to them in Indian. The thing -that so unites the Indians to us is our taking the -sovereignty of Lake Champlain. They have wit -enough to make a good bargain, and stand by the -strongest side. Much the same may be said of -the Canadians.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span></p> - -<p>It may be thought that to push an army into -Canada would be too premature and imprudent. -If so, I propose to make a stand at the Isle-aux-Noix -which the French fortified by intrenchment -the last war, and greatly fatigued our large army -to take it. It is about fifteen miles this side St. -John's. Our only having it in our power thus to -make incursions into Canada, might probably be -the very reason why it would be unnecessary to -do so, even if the Canadians should prove more -refractory than I think for.</p> - -<p>Lastly, with submission I would propose to your -Honors to raise a small regiment of Rangers, -which I could easily do, and that mostly in the -counties of Albany and Charlotte, provided your -Honors should think it expedient to grant commissions -and thus regulate and put the same under -pay. Probably your Honors may think this an -impertinent proposal: it is truly the first favor I -ever asked of the Government, and if it be granted, -I shall be zealously ambitious to conduct for the -best good of my country and the honor of the -Government.</p></div> - -<p>On June 9th Allen addressed the Massachusetts -Congress:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>These armed vessels are at present abundantly -sufficient to command the Lake. The making -these acquisitions has greatly attached the Canadians, -and more especially the Indians, to our -interest. They have no personal prejudice or con<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>troversy -with the United Colonies, but act upon -political principles, and consequently are inclined -to fall in with the strongest side. At present ours -has the appearance of it; as there are at present -but seven hundred regular troops in all the different -parts of Canada. Add to this the consideration -of the imperious and haughty conduct of the troops, -which has much alienated the affections of both -the Canadians and Indians from them. Probably -there may soon be more troops from England sent -there, but at present you may rely on it that -Canada is in a weak and helpless condition. Two -or three thousand men, conducted by intrepid commanders, -would at this juncture make a conquest -of the ministerial party in Canada with such additional -numbers as may be supposed to vie with -the reinforcements that may be sent from England. -Such a plan would make a diversion in -favor of the Massachusetts Bay, who have been too -much burdened with the calamity that should be -more general, as all partake of the salutary effects -of their valor and merit in the defence of the liberties -of America. I hope, gentlemen, you will use -your influence in forwarding men, provisions, and -every article for the army that may be thought -necessary. Blankets, provisions, and powder are -scarce.</p></div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span></p> - - <div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a><a href="#CONTENTS">CHAPTER IX.</a></h2> - -<p class="pfs70">ALLEN'S LETTERS TO THE MONTREAL MERCHANTS, -TO THE INDIANS IN CANADA, AND TO THE -CANADIANS.—JOHN BROWN.</p> - - -<p>The letters to the Indians and Canadians -to which Allen has referred show still more -clearly the vigorous policy and the adroitness -which Allen displayed in the preparations for -the invasion of Canada. He wrote to the Montreal -merchants:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">St. John's</span>, May 18th.</p> - -<p class="negin1"><em>To Mr. James Morrison and the Merchants that are -friendly to the Cause of Liberty in Montreal.</em></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Gentlemen</span>:—I have the pleasure to acquaint -you that Lakes George and Champlain, with the -fortresses, artillery, etc., particularly the armed -sloop of George the Third, with all water carriages -of these lakes, are now in possession of the Colonies. -I expect the English merchants, as well as all -virtuous disposed gentlemen, will be in the interest -of the Colonies. The advanced guard of the army -is now at St. John's, and desire immediately to -have a personal intercourse with you. Your im<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>mediate -assistance as to provisions, ammunition, -and spirituous liquors is wanted and forthwith expected, -not as a donation, for I am empowered by -the Colonies to purchase the same; and I desire -you would forthwith and without further notice -prepare for the use of the army those articles to -the amount of five hundred pounds, and deliver -the same to me at St. John's, or at least a part of it -almost instantaneously, as the soldiers press on -faster than provisions.</p> - -<p>I need not inform you that my directions from -the Colonies are, not to contend with or any way -injure or molest the Canadians or Indians; but, on -the other hand, treat them with the greatest -friendship and kindness. You will be pleased to -communicate the same to them, and some of you -immediately visit me at this place, while others -are active in delivering the provisions.</p></div> - -<p>On May 24, 1775, Allen addressed a letter -to the Indians of Canada:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Headquarters of the Army, Crown Point.</span></p> - -<p>By advice of council of the officers, I recommend -our trusty and well-beloved friend and brother, -Capt. Abraham Ninham of Stockbridge, as our embassador -of peace to our good brother Indians of -the four tribes, viz., the Hocnaurigoes, the Surgaches, -the Canesadaugaus and the Saint Fransawas.</p> - -<p>Loving brothers and friends, I have to inform -you that George the Third, King of England, has<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> -made war with the English Colonies in America, -who have ever until now been his good subjects, -and sent his army and killed some of your good -friends and brothers at Boston, in the Province of -the Massachusetts Bay. Then your good brothers -in that Province, and in all the Colonies of English -America, made war with King George and -have begun to kill the men of his army, and have -taken Ticonderoga and Crown Point from him, and -all the artillery, and also a great sloop which was -at St. Johns, and all the boats in the lake, and -have raised and are raising two great armies; one -is destined for Boston, and the other for the fortresses -and department of Lake Champlain, to -fight the King's troops that oppose the Colonies -from Canada; and as King George's soldiers killed -our brothers and friends in a time of peace, I hope, -as Indians are good and honest men, you will not -fight for King George against your friends in -America, as they have done you no wrong, and -desire to live with you as brothers. You know it -is good for my warriors and Indians too, to kill the -Regulars, because they first began to kill our -brothers in this country without cause.</p> - -<p>I was always a friend to Indians and have -hunted with them many times, and know how to -shoot and ambush like Indians, and am a great -hunter. I want to have your warriors come and -see me, and help me fight the King's Regular -troops. You know they stand all along close together -rank and file, and my men fight so as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> -Indians do, and I want your warriors to join with -me and my warriors like brothers and ambush the -Regulars: if you will I will give you money, -blankets, tomahawks, knives, paint, and anything -there is in the army, just like brothers; and I will -go with you into the woods to scout, and my men -and your men will sleep together and eat and drink -together, and fight Regulars because they first -killed our brothers and will fight against us; -therefore I want our brother Indians to help us -fight, for I know Indians are good warriors and -can fight well in the bush.</p> - -<p>Ye know my warriors must fight, but if you, our -brother Indians, do not fight on either side, we -will still be friends and brothers; and you may -come and hunt in our woods, and come with your -canoes in the lake, and let us have venison at our -forts on the lake, and have rum, bread, and what -you want, and be like brothers. I have sent our -friend Winthrop Hoit to treat with you on our behalf -in friendship. You know him, for he has -lived with you, and is your adopted son, and is a -good man; Captain Ninham of Stockbridge and -he will tell you about the whole matter more than -I can write. I hope your warriors will come and -see me. So I bid all my brother Indians farewell.</p> - -<p class="right padr4"> -<span class="smcap">Ethan Allen</span>,</p> - -<p class="right"><em>Colonel of the Green Mountain Boys</em>.</p> -</div> - -<p>Two days after the date of this letter Allen -sent a copy of it to the Assembly of Connecti<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span>cut, -saying: "I thought it advisable that the -Honorable Assembly should be informed of all -our politicks."</p> - -<p>Allen shows great shrewdness in adapting -his letters to what he considers the aboriginal -mind. Addressing the Indians constantly as -brothers he appeals to their love of bush-fighting, -and as regards the question of barter, to -their love of rum. By his reiteration he recognizes -the childish immaturity of the Indian. -Far differently he addresses the Canadians, to -whose reason he appeals and whose sense of -justice he compliments:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Ticonderoga</span>, June 4.</p> - -<p class="negin1"><em>Countrymen and Friends, the French people of Canada, -greeting</em>:</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Friends and Fellow-Countrymen</span>:—You are -undoubtedly more or less acquainted with the -unnatural and unhappy controversy subsisting -between Great Britain and her Colonies, the -particulars of which in this letter we do not expatiate -upon, but refer your considerations of the -justice and equitableness thereof on the part of -the Colonies, to the former knowledge that you -have of this matter. We need only observe that -the inhabitants of the Colonies view the controversy -on their part to be justifiable in the sight -of God, and all unprejudiced and honest men that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> -have or may have opportunity and ability to examine -into the merits of it. Upon this principle -those inhabitants determine to vindicate their -cause, and maintain their natural and constitutional -rights and liberties at the expense of their -lives and fortunes, but have not the least disposition -to injure, molest, or in any way deprive our -fellow-subjects, the Canadians, of their liberty or -property. Nor have they any design to urge war -against them; and from all intimations that the -inhabitants of the said Colonies have received -from the Canadians, it has appeared that they -were alike disposed for friendship and neutrality, -and not at all disposed to take part with the King's -troops in the present civil war against the Colonies.</p> - -<p>We were, nevertheless, surprised to hear that a -number of about thirty Canadians attacked our -reconnoitring party consisting of four men, fired -on them, and pursued them, and obliged them to -return the fire. This is the account of the party -that has since arrived at headquarters. We -desire to know of any gentlemen Canadians the -facts of the case, as one story is good until another -is told. Our general order to the soldiery was, -that they should not, on pain of death, molest or -kill any of your people. But if it shall appear, -upon examination, that our reconnoitring party -commenced hostilities against your people, they -shall suffer agreeable to the sentence of a court-martial; -for our special orders from the Colonies -are to befriend and protect you if need be; so that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> -if you desire their friendship you are invited to -embrace it, for nothing can be more undesirable -to your friends in the Colonies, than a war with -their fellow-subjects the Canadians, or with the -Indians.</p> - -<p>Hostilities have already begun; to fight with -the King's troops has become a necessary and incumbent -duty; the Colonies cannot avoid it. But -pray, is it necessary that the Canadians and the -inhabitants of the English Colonies should butcher -one another? God forbid! There is no controversy -subsisting between you and them. Pray let -old England and the Colonies fight it out, and you, -Canadians, stand by and see what an arm of flesh -can do. We conclude, Saint Luke, Captain McCoy, -and other evil-minded persons whose interest -and inclination is that the Canadians and the people -of these Colonies should cut one another's -throats, have inveigled some of the baser sort of -your people to attack our said reconnoitring party.</p></div> - -<p>Allen signed this letter as "At present the -Principal Commander of the Army."</p> - -<p>A copy of it was sent to Mr. Walker at Montreal -by Mr. Jeffere. Another copy was sent -to the New York Provincial Congress.</p> - -<p>John Brown, a young lawyer of Pittsfield, -Massachusetts, was the cause of Ethan Allen's -long, terrible captivity. That alone justifies -our curiosity to know all about him. In March,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> -before the war, he made an eventful trip to -Montreal, going along our borders, crossing -the lakes, visiting Bennington, engaging two -pilots, contracting with the foremost men -there, spending days investigating the status -of affairs in Canada as to the coming struggle. -Reporting to his employers, Samuel Adams -and Dr. Joseph Warren, he says that after -stopping about a fortnight at Albany he was -fourteen days journeying to St. John's, undergoing -inconceivable hardships; the lake very -high, the country for twenty miles each -side under water; the ice breaking loose for -miles; two days frozen in to an island; "we -were glad to foot it on land;" "there is no -prospect of Canada sending delegates to the -Continental Congress." He speaks of his -pilot, Peleg Sunderland, as "an old Indian -hunter acquainted with the St. Francis Indians -and their language." The other pilot was a -captive many years ago among the Caughnawaga -Indians. This last was Winthrop Hoit, of -Bennington. These two men were famous for -their familiarity with Indian ways and speech, -as well as for general prowess, and their exploits -in "beech-sealing" the Yorkers. Several -days Sunderland and Hoit were among the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> -Caughnawagas, studying their manifestations -of feeling toward the colonists. Brown gave -letters to Thomas Walker and Blake, and -pamphlets to four curés in La Prairie. He -was kindly received by the local committee, -who told him about Canadian politics, that -Governor Carleton was no great politician, a -man of sour, morose temper, and so forth. -Brown wrote Adams and Warren he should -not go to Quebec, "as a number of their committee -are here," but "I shall tarry here some -time." "I have established a channel of -correspondence through the New Hampshire -Grants which may be depended on." "One -thing I must mention, to be kept as a profound -secret. The fort at Ticonderoga must be -seized as soon as possible should hostilities be -committed by the King's troops. <em>The people -on New Hampshire Grants have engaged to do -this business.</em>" This letter was dated three -weeks before the Lexington and Concord fights -electrified the continent.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span></p> - - <div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a><a href="#CONTENTS">CHAPTER X.</a></h2> - -<p class="pfs70">WARNER ELECTED COLONEL OF THE GREEN MOUNTAIN -BOYS.—ALLEN'S LETTER TO GOVERNOR -TRUMBULL.—CORRESPONDENCE IN REGARD TO -THE INVASION OF CANADA.—ATTACK ON MONTREAL.—DEFEAT -AND CAPTURE.—WARNER'S REPORT.</p> - - -<p>On July 27th committees of towns met at -Dorset to choose a lieutenant-colonel of the -regiment, and thus of those Green Mountain -Boys for whose organization Allen had been -so active and efficient with both the Continental -and New York Congresses. Seth Warner -received forty-one of the forty-six votes cast. -Deep was Allen's chagrin and mortification, -as appears in the following letter to Governor -Trumbull:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Ticonderoga</span>, August 3, 1775.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Honored Sir</span>:—General Schuyler exerts his -utmost in building boats and making preparations -for the army to advance, as I suppose, to St. -John's, etc. We have an insufficient store of provisions -for such an undertaking, though the pro<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>jection -is now universally approved. Provisions -are hurrying forward, but not so fast as I could -hope for. General Wooster's corps has not arrived. -I fear there is some treachery among the -New York Tory party relative to forwarding the -expedition, though I am confident that the General -is faithful. No troops from New York, except some -officers, have arrived, though it is given out that -they will soon be here. The General tells me -he does not want any more troops till more provisions -come to hand, which he is hurrying; and -ordered the troops under General Wooster, part -to be billeted in the mean while at Albany and -part to mend the road from there to Lake George.</p> - -<p>It is indeed an arduous work to furnish an army -to prosecute an enterprise. In the interim, I am -apprehensive, the enemy are forming one against -us; witness the sailing of the transports and two -men of war from Boston, as it is supposed for -Quebeck. Probably, it appears that the King's -Troops are discouraged of making incursions into -the Province of the Massachusetts Bay. Likely -they will send part of their force to overawe the -Canadians, and inveigle the Indians into their -interest. I fear the Colonies have been too slow -in their resolutions and preparations relative to -this department; but hope they may still succeed.</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding my zeal and success in my -country's cause, the old farmers on the New Hampshire -Grants (who do not incline to go to war) -have met in a committee meeting, and in their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> -nomination of officers for the regiment of Green -Mountain Boys (who are quickly to be raised) -have wholly omitted me; but as the commissions -will come from the Continental Congress, I hope -they will remember me, as I desire to remain in -the service, and remain your Honor's most obedient -and humble servant,</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Ethan Allen</span>.</p> - -<p class="negin2 small">To the Hon. Jona. Trumbull, Governor of the Colony of -Connecticut.</p> - -<p>N. B.—General Schuyler will transmit to your -Honors a copy of the affidavits of two intelligent -friends, who have just arrived from Canada. I -apprehend that what they have delivered is truth. -I find myself in the favor of the officers of the -Army and the young Green Mountain Boys. How -the old men came to reject me I cannot conceive, -inasmuch as I saved them from the encroachments -of New York.</p> - -<p class="right">E. A.</p> -</div> - -<p>This Jonathan Trumbull, be it remembered, -was the original "Brother Jonathan."</p> - -<p>Allen's first connection with the campaign -in Canada is explained in his own narrative:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Early in the fall of the year, the little army -under the command of the Generals Schuyler and -Montgomery were ordered to advance into Canada. -I was at Ticonderoga when this order arrived; -and the General, with most of the field -officers, requested me to attend them in the ex<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>pedition; -and though at that time I had no commission -from Congress, yet they engaged me, that -I should be considered as an officer, the same as -though I had a commission; and should, as occasion -might require, command certain detachments -of the army. This I considered as an honorable -offer, and did not hesitate to comply with it.</p></div> - -<p>September 8, 1775, from St. Therese, James -Livingston wrote to General Schuyler:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Your manifestos came to hand, and despatched -them off to the different Parishes with all possible -care and expedition. The Canadians are all -friends, and a spirit of freedom seems to reign -amongst them. Colonel Allen, Major Brown and -myself set off this morning with a party of Canadians -with intention to go to your army; but hearing -of a party of Indians waiting for us the same -side of the river, we thought it most prudent to -retire in order, if possible, to raise a more considerable -party of men. We shall drop down the -River Chambly, as far as my house, where a -number of Canadians are waiting for us.</p></div> - -<p>September 10, 1775, at Isle-aux-Noix, General -Schuyler in his orders to Colonel Ritzemd, -who was going into Canada with five hundred -men, says:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Colonel Allen and Major Brown have orders to -request that provisions may be brought to you,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> -which must be punctually paid for, for which -purpose I have furnished you with the sum of -£318 1s. 10d. in gold.</p></div> - -<p>September 15, 1775, at Isle-aux-Noix, General -Schuyler received from James Livingston -a report in which he says:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Yesterday morning, I sent a party each side of -the river, Colonel Allen at their head, to take the -vessels at Sorel, by surprise if possible. Numbers -of people flock to them, and make no doubt they -will carry their point. I have cut off the communication -from Montreal to Chambly. We have -nothing to fear here at present but a few seigneurs -in the country endeavoring to raise forces. -I hope Colonel Allen's presence will put a stop -to it.</p></div> - -<p>September 8, 1775, at Isle-aux-Noix, Schuyler -writes Hancock:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>I hope to hear in a day or two from Colonel -Allen and Major Brown, who went to deliver my -declaration.</p></div> - -<p>This refers to Schuyler's address to the inhabitants -of Canada, dated Isle-aux-Noix, September 5, -1775.</p> - -<p>From Isle-aux-Noix, September 14, 1775, -Ethan Allen reports to General Schuyler:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Set out from Isle-aux-Noix on the 8th instant; -arrived at Chambly; found the Canadians in that -vicinity friendly. They guarded me under arms -night and day, escorted me through the woods -as I desired, and showed me every courtesy I -could wish for. The news of my being in this -place excited many captains of the Militia and -respectable gentlemen of the Canadians to visit -and converse with me, as I gave out I was sent by -General Schuyler to manifest his friendly intentions -toward them, and delivered the General's -written manifesto to them to the same purpose. -I likewise sent a messenger to the chiefs of the -Caughnawaga Indians, demanding the cause why -sundry of the Indians had taken up arms against -the United Colonies; they had sent two of their -chiefs to me, who plead that it was contrary to the -will and orders of their chiefs. The King's troops -gave them rum and inveigled them to fight against -General Schuyler; that they had sent their runners -and ordered them to depart from St. John's, -averring their friendship to the Colonies. Meanwhile -the Sachems held a General Council, sent -two of their Captains and some beads and a wampum -belt as a lasting testimony of their friendship, -and that they would not take up arms on either -side. These tokens of friendship were delivered -to me, agreeable to their ceremony, in a solemn -manner, in the presence of a large auditory of -Canadians, who approved of the league and manifested -friendship to the Colonies, and testified<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> -their good-will on account of the advance of the -army into Canada. Their fears (as they said) -were, that our army was too weak to protect them -against the severity of the English Government, -as a defeat on our part would expose our friends -in Canada to it. In this dilemma our friends -expressed anxiety of mind. It furthermore appeared -to me that many of the Canadians were -watching the scale of power, whose attraction -attracted them. In fine, our friends in Canada -earnestly urged that General Schuyler should immediately -environ St. John's, and that they would -assist in cutting off the communication between -St. John's and Chambly, and between these forts -and Montreal. They furthermore assured me that -they would help our army to provisions, etc., and -that if our army did not make a conquest of the -King's garrisons, they would be exposed to the -resentment of the English Government, which -they dreaded, and consequently the attempt of -the army into Canada would be to them the greatest -evil. They further told me that some of the -inhabitants, that were in their hearts friendly to -us, would, to extricate themselves, take up arms -in favor of the Crown; and therefore, that it was -of the last importance to them, as well as to us, -that the army immediately attack St. John's; -which would cause them to take up arms in our -favor. Governor Carleton threatens the Canadians -with fire and sword, except they assist him against -the Colonies, and the seigneurs urge them to it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> -They have withstood Carleton and them, and keep -under arms throughout most of their Parishes, and -are now anxiously watching the scale of power. -This is the situation of affairs in Canada, according -to my most painful discovery. Given under -my hand, upon honor, this 14th day of September, -1775.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Ethan Allen.</span></p> - -<p class="negin2 small">To his Excellency General Schuyler.</p> -</div> - -<p>With one more letter from Allen (to General -Montgomery) we will close his correspondence -on the invasion of Canada, which he so strongly -urged, so shrewdly planned, and yet which -failed from lack of the co-operation of others:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">St. Tours</span>, September 20, 1775.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Excellent Sir</span>:—I am now in the Parish of St. -Tours, four leagues to the south; have two hundred -and fifty Canadians under arms; as I march -they gather fast. These are the objects of taking -the vessels in Sorel and General Carleton. These -objects I pass by to assist the army besieging St. -John's. If this place be taken the country is ours; -if we miscarry in this, all other achievements will -profit but little. I am fearful our army may be -too sickly, and that the siege may be hard; therefore -choose to assist in conquering St. John's, -which, of consequence, conquers the whole. You -may rely on it that I shall join you in about three -days, with three hundred or more Canadian volunteers. -I could raise one or two thousand in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> -week's time, but will first visit the army with a -less number, and if necessary will go again recruiting. -Those that used to be enemies to our -cause come cap in hand to me, and I swear by the -Lord I can raise three times the number of our -army in Canada, provided you continue the siege; -all depends on that. It is the advice of the officers -with me, that I speedily repair to the army. -God grant you wisdom, fortitude and every accomplishment -of a victorious general; the eyes -of all America, nay, of Europe, are or will be on -the economy of this army, and the consequences -attending it. I am your most obedient humble -servant,</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Ethan Allen</span>.</p> - -<p>P.S.—I have purchased six hogsheads of rum, -and sent a sergeant with a small party to deliver -it at headquarters. Mr. Livingston, and others -under him, will provide what fresh beef you need; -as to bread and flour, I am forwarding what I can. -You may rely on my utmost attention to this object, -as well as raising auxiliaries. I know the -ground is swampy and bad for raising batteries, -but pray let no object of obstructions be insurmountable. -The glory of a victory, which will be -attended with such important consequences, will -crown all our fatigue, risks, and labors; to fail of -victory will be an eternal disgrace; but to obtain -it will elevate us on the wings of fame.</p> - -<p class="right padr6">Yours, etc.,</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Ethan Allen</span>.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span></p> - -<p>On September 17th, three and a half months -after Allen urged the invasion of Canada, -Montgomery began the siege of St. John's. -Two or three days later Warner arrived with -his regiment of Green Mountain Boys. Arnold, -not behind in energy and daring, captured -a British sloop.</p> - -<p>On September 24th Allen, with about eighty -men, chiefly Canadians, met Major John Brown, -with about two hundred Americans and Canadians, -and Brown proposed to attack Montreal. -It was agreed that Brown should cross the St. -Lawrence that night above the city, while Allen -crossed it below. Allen added about thirty -English-Americans to his force and crossed. -The cause of Brown's failure to meet him has -never been explained. Several hundred English-Canadians -and Indians with forty regular -soldiers attacked Allen, and for two hours he -bravely and skilfully fought a force several -times larger than his own. Most of Allen's -Canadian allies deserted him, and with thirty -of his men he was finally captured, loaded with -irons, and transported to England.</p> - -<p>Thus, within five months, Allen, who had -never before seen a battle or an army, who -had never been trained as a soldier, becomes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> -famous by the capture of Ticonderoga; is influential -in preventing the abandonment of -Ticonderoga; is foremost in the institution of -a regiment of Green Mountain Boys; is rejected -by that regiment as its commanding -officer; is successful in raising the Canadians; -urges Congress to invade Canada; fails from -lack of support in his attack on Montreal; in -five short months, fame, defeat, and bitter -captivity.</p> - -<p>Warner's announcement to Montgomery is -as follows:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">La Prairie</span>, September 27, 1775.</p> - -<p>May it please your Honor, I have the disagreeable -news to write you that Colonel Allen hath -met a defeat by a stronger force which sallied out -of the town of Montreal after he had crossed the -river about a mile below the town. I have no -certain knowledge as yet whether he is killed, -taken, or fled; but his defeat hath put the French -people into great consternation. They are much -concerned for fear of a company coming over -against us. Furthermore the Indian chiefs were -at Montreal at the time of Allen's battle, and -there were a number of Caughnawaga Indians in -the battle against Allen, and the people are very -fearful of the Indians. There were six in here -last night, I suppose sent as spies. I asked the -Indians concerning their appearing against us in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> -every battle; their answer to me was, that Carleton -made them drunk and drove them to it; but they -said they would do so no more. I should think it -proper to keep a party at Longueil, and my party -is not big enough to divide. If I must tarry here, -I should be glad of my regiment, for my party is -made up with different companies in different -regiments, and my regulation is not as good as I -could wish, for subordination to your orders is my -pleasure. I am, sir, with submission, your humble -servant,</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Seth Warner</span>.</p> - -<p class="noindent mmx1 small">To General Montgomery.</p> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>This moment arrived from Colonel Allen's defeat, -Captain Duggan with the following intelligence: -Colonel Allen is absolutely taken captive -to Montreal with a few more, and about two -or three killed, and about as many wounded. -The living are not all come in. Something of a -slaughter made among the King's troops. From -yours to serve,</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Seth Warner</span>.</p> -</div> - -<p>Schuyler, Montgomery, and Livingston, in -letters written after the defeat, comment on -Allen's imprudence in making the attack single-handed, -but no mention is made of Brown, -with whose force Allen expected to be re-enforced, -and with whose help the tide of battle -might have been turned and Canada's future -might have been entirely changed.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span></p> - - <div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a><a href="#CONTENTS">CHAPTER XI.</a></h2> - -<p class="pfs70">ALLEN'S NARRATIVE.—ATTACK ON MONTREAL.—DEFEAT -AND SURRENDER.—BRUTAL TREATMENT.—ARRIVAL -IN ENGLAND.—DEBATES IN -PARLIAMENT.</p> - - -<p>The story of Allen's captivity is best told in -his own vivid narrative as follows:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>On the morning of the 24th day of September -I set out with my guard of about eighty men, -from Longueuil, to go to Laprairie, from whence -I determined to go to General Montgomery's -camp; I had not advanced two miles before I met -with Major Brown, who has since been advanced -to the rank of a colonel, who desired me to halt, -saying that he had something of importance to -communicate to me and my confidants; upon which -I halted the party and went into a house, and took -a private room with him and several of my associates, -where Colonel Brown proposed that, provided -I would return to Longueuil and procure -some canoes, so as to cross the river St. Lawrence -a little north of Montreal, he would cross it a little -to the south of the town, with near two hundred -men, as he had boats sufficient, and that we could<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> -make ourselves masters of Montreal. This plan -was readily approved by me and those in council, -and in consequence of which I returned to Longueuil, -collected a few canoes, and added about -thirty English-Americans to my party and crossed -the river in the night of the 24th, agreeably to the -proposed plan.</p> - -<p>My whole party at this time consisted of about -one hundred and ten men, near eighty of whom -were Canadians. We were most of the night -crossing the river, as we had so few canoes that -they had to pass and repass three times to carry -my party across. Soon after daybreak, I set a -guard between me and the town, with special orders -to let no person pass or repass them, another -guard on the other end of the road with like directions; -in the mean time, I reconnoitred the -best ground to make a defence, expecting Colonel -Brown's party was landed on the other side of the -town, he having the day before agreed to give -three huzzas with his men early in the morning, -which signal I was to return, that we might each -know that both parties were landed; but the sun -by this time being nearly two hours high, and the -sign failing, I began to conclude myself to be in -a præmunire, and would have crossed the river -back again, but I knew the enemy would have discovered -such an attempt; and as there could not -more than one-third part of my troops cross at -a time, the other two-thirds would of course fall -into their hands. This I could not reconcile to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> -my own feelings as a man, much less as an officer; -I therefore concluded to maintain the ground -if possible and all to fare alike. In consequence -of this resolution, I dispatched two messengers, -one to Laprairie to Colonel Brown, and the other -to L'Assomption, a French settlement, to Mr. -Walker who was in our interest, requesting their -speedy assistance, giving them at the same time -to understand my critical situation. In the mean -time, sundry persons came to my guards pretending -to be friends, but were by them taken prisoners -and brought to me. These I ordered to confinement -until their friendship could be further confirmed; -for I was jealous they were spies, as they -proved to be afterward. One of the principal of -them making his escape, exposed the weakness of -my party, which was the final cause of my misfortune; -for I have been since informed that Mr. -Walker, agreeably to my desire, exerted himself, -and had raised a considerable number of men for -my assistance, which brought him into difficulty -afterward, but upon hearing of my misfortune he -disbanded them again.</p> - -<p>The town of Montreal was in a great tumult. -General Carleton and the royal party made every -preparation to go on board their vessels of force, -as I was afterward informed, but the spy escaped -from my guard to the town occasioned an alteration -in their policy and emboldened General -Carleton to send the force which had there collected -out against me. I had previously chosen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> -my ground, but when I saw the number of the -enemy as they sallied out of the town I perceived -it would be a day of trouble, if not of rebuke; but -I had no chance to flee, as Montreal was situated -on an island and the St. Lawrence cut off my communication -to General Montgomery's camp. I -encouraged my soldiers to bravely defend themselves, -that we should soon have help, and that -we should be able to keep the ground if no -more. This and much more I affirmed with the -greatest seeming assurance, and which in reality -I thought to be in some degree probable.</p> - -<p>The enemy consisted of not more than forty -regular troops, together with a mixed multitude, -chiefly Canadians, with a number of English who -lived in town, and some Indians; in all to the -number of five hundred.</p> - -<p>The reader will notice that most of my party -were Canadians; indeed, it was a motley parcel of -soldiery which composed both parties. However, -the enemy began to attack from wood-piles, ditches, -buildings, and such like places, at a considerable -distance, and I returned the fire from a situation -more than equally advantageous. The attack began -between two and three o'clock in the afternoon, -just before which I ordered a volunteer by -the name of Richard Young, with a detachment -of nine men as a flank guard, which, under the -cover of the bank of the river, could not only annoy -the enemy, but at the same time serve as a flank -guard to the left of the main body.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span></p> - -<p>The fire continued for some time on both sides; -and I was confident that such a remote method of -attack could not carry the ground, provided it -should be continued till night; but near half the -body of the enemy began to flank round to my -right, upon which I ordered a volunteer by the -name of John Dugan, who had lived many years -in Canada and understood the French language, to -detach about fifty Canadians, and post himself at -an advantageous ditch which was on my right, -to prevent my being surrounded. He advanced -with the detachment, but instead of occupying -the post made his escape, as did likewise Mr. -Young upon the left, with their detachments. I -soon perceived that the enemy was in possession -of the ground which Dugan should have occupied. -At this time I had but about forty-five men with -me, some of whom were wounded; the enemy -kept closing round me, nor was it in my power -to prevent it; by which means my situation, which -was advantageous in the first part of the attack, -ceased to be so in the last; and being entirely -surrounded with such vast, unequal numbers, I -ordered a retreat, but found that those of the enemy -who were of the country, and their Indians, -could run as fast as my men, though the regulars -could not. Thus I retreated near a mile, and -some of the enemy with the savages kept flanking -me, and others crowded hard in the rear. In fine, -I expected in a very short time to try the world -of spirits; for I was apprehensive that no quarter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> -would be given to me, and therefore had determined -to sell my life as dear as I could. One of -the enemy's officers boldly pressing in the rear, -discharged his fusee at me; the ball whistled near -me, as did many others that day. I returned the -salute and missed him, as running had put us both -out of breath; for I concluded we were not frightened. -I then saluted him with my tongue in a -harsh manner, and told him that inasmuch as his -numbers were so far superior to mine, I would -surrender provided I could be treated with honor -and be assured of a good quarter for myself and -the men who were with me; and he answered I -should; another officer, coming up directly after, -confirmed the treaty; upon which I agreed to -surrender with my party, which then consisted of -thirty-one effective men and seven wounded. I -ordered them to ground their arms, which they did.</p> - -<p>The officer I capitulated with then directed me -and my party to advance toward him, which was -done; I handed him my sword, and in half a minute -after a savage, part of whose head was shaved, -being almost naked and painted, with feathers -intermixed with the hair of the other side of his -head, came running to me with an incredible -swiftness; he seemed to advance with more than -mortal speed; as he approached near me, his hellish -visage was beyond all description; snakes' eyes -appear innocent in comparison to his; his features -distorted, malice, death, murder, and the -wrath of devils and damned spirits are the em<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>blems -of his countenance, and in less than twelve -feet of me, presented his firelock; at the instant -of his present, I twitched the officer to whom I -gave my sword between me and the savage; but -he flew round with great fury, trying to single -me out to shoot me without killing the officer, -but by this time I was nearly as nimble as he, -keeping the officer in such a position that his danger -was my defence; but in less than half a minute, -I was attacked by just such another imp of -hell. Then I made the officer fly around with -incredible velocity for a few seconds of time, when -I perceived a Canadian who had lost one eye, as -appeared afterward, taking my part against the -savages; and in an instant an Irishman came to -my assistance with a fixed bayonet, and drove away -the fiends, swearing by —— he would kill them. -This tragic scene composed my mind. The escaping -from so awful a death made even imprisonment -happy; the more so as my conquerors on the -field treated me with great civility and politeness.</p> - -<p>The regular officers said that they were very -happy to see Colonel Allen. I answered them -that I should rather choose to have seen them at -General Montgomery's camp. The gentlemen -replied that they gave full credit to what I said, -and as I walked to the town, which was, as I -should guess, more than two miles, a British officer -walking at my right hand and one of the -French noblesse at my left; the latter of which,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> -in the action, had his eyebrow carried away by a -glancing shot, but was nevertheless very merry -and facetious, and no abuse was offered me till I -came to the barrack yard at Montreal, where I -met General Prescott, who asked me my name, -which I told him; he then asked me whether I -was that Colonel Allen who took Ticonderoga. -I told him that I was the very man; then he shook -his cane over my head, calling me many hard -names, among which he frequently used the word -rebel, and put himself in a great rage. I told -him he would do well not to cane me, for I was -not accustomed to it, and shook my fist at him, -telling him that was the beetle of mortality for -him if he offered to strike; upon which Captain -M'Cloud of the British, pulled him by the skirt -and whispered to him, as he afterward told me, to -this import, that it was inconsistent with his honor -to strike a prisoner. He then ordered a sergeant's -command with fixed bayonets to come forward and -kill thirteen Canadians who were included in the -treaty aforesaid.</p> - -<p>It cut me to the heart to see the Canadians in so -hard a case, in consequence of their having been -true to me; they were wringing their hands, saying -their prayers, as I concluded, and expected -immediate death. I therefore stepped between -the executioners and the Canadians, opened my -clothes, and told General Prescott to thrust his -bayonet into my breast, for I was the sole cause -of the Canadians taking up arms.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span></p> - -<p>The guard in the mean time, rolling their eyeballs -from the General to me, as though impatiently -waiting his dread command to sheath their -bayonets in my heart; I could however, plainly -discern, that he was in a suspense and quandary -about the matter; this gave me additional hopes -of succeeding; for my design was not to die, but -to save the Canadians by a finesse. The general -stood a minute, when he made the following reply: -"I will not execute you now, but you shall grace -a halter at Tyburn, —— you."</p> - -<p>I remember I disdained his mentioning such a -place; I was, notwithstanding, a little pleased with -the expression, as it significantly conveyed to me -the idea of postponing the present appearance of -death; besides, his sentence was by no means final -as to "gracing a halter," although I had anxiety -about it after I landed in England, as the reader -will find in the course of this history. General -Prescott then ordered one of his officers to take -me on board the <i>Gaspee</i> schooner of war and confine -me, hands and feet, in irons, which was done -the same afternoon I was taken.</p> - -<p>The action continued an hour and three-quarters -by the watch, and I know not to this day how -many of my men were killed, though I am certain -there were but few. If I remember right, seven -were wounded; one of them, Wm. Stewart by -name, was wounded by a savage with a tomahawk -after he was taken prisoner and disarmed, but -was rescued by some of the generous enemy, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> -so far recovered of his wounds that he afterward -went with the other prisoners to England.</p> - -<p>Of the enemy, were killed a Major Carden, who -had been wounded in eleven different battles, and -an eminent merchant, Patterson, of Montreal, and -some others, but I never knew their whole loss, -as their accounts were different. I am apprehensive -that it is rare that so much ammunition was -expended and so little execution done by it; though -such of my party as stood the ground, behaved -with great fortitude—much exceeding that of the -enemy—but were not the best of marksmen, and, -I am apprehensive, were all killed or taken; the -wounded were all put into the hospital at Montreal, -and those that were not were put on board -of different vessels in the river and shackled together -by pairs, viz., two men fastened together -by one handcuff being closely fixed to one wrist -of each of them, and treated with the greatest severity, -nay, as criminals.</p> - -<p>I now come to the description of the irons which -were put on me. The handcuff was of common -size and form, but my leg irons I should imagine -would weigh thirty pounds; the bar was eight feet -long and very substantial; the shackles which encompassed -my ankles were very tight. I was told -by the officer who put them on that it was the -king's plate, and I heard other of their officers -say that it would weigh forty weight. The irons -were so close upon my ankles, that I could not lay -down in any other manner than on my back. I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> -was put into the lowest and most wretched part -of the vessel, where I got the favor of a chest to -sit on; the same answered for my bed at night; -and having procured some little blocks of the -guard, who day and night, with fixed bayonets -watched over me, to lie under each end of the -large bar of my leg irons, to preserve my ankles -from galling while I sat on the chest or lay back -on the same, though most of the time, night and -day, I sat on it; but at length having a desire to -lie down on my side, which the closeness of my -irons forbid, I desired the captain to loosen them -for that purpose, but was denied the favor. The -captain's name was Royal, who did not seem to -be an ill-natured man, but oftentimes said that -his express orders were to treat me with such severity, -which was disagreeable to his own feelings; -nor did he ever insult me, though many others -who came on board did. One of the officers, by -the name of Bradley, was very generous to me; -he would often send me victuals from his own -table; nor did a day fail, but he sent me a good -drink of grog.</p> - -<p>The reader is now invited back to the time I -was put into irons. I requested the privilege to -write to General Prescott, which was granted. I -reminded him of the kind and generous manner -of my treatment of the prisoners I took at Ticonderoga; -the injustice and ungentlemanlike usage -I had met with from him, and demanded better -usage, but received no answer from him. I soon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> -after wrote to General Carleton, which met the -same success. In the mean while, many of those -who were permitted to see me were very insulting.</p> - -<p>I was confined in the manner I have related, -on board the <i>Gaspee</i> schooner, about six weeks, -during which time I was obliged to throw out -plenty of extravagant language, which answered -certain purposes, at that time, better than to grace -a history.</p> - -<p>To give an instance: upon being insulted, in a -fit of anger, I twisted off a nail with my teeth, -which I took to be a ten-penny nail; it went -through the mortise of the band of my handcuff, -and at the same time I swaggered over those who -abused me, particularly a Doctor Dace, who told -me that I was outlawed by New York, and deserved -death for several years past; was at last -fully ripened for the halter, and in a fair way to -obtain it. When I challenged him, he excused -himself, in consequence, as he said, of my being -a criminal; but I flung such a flood of language at -him that it shocked him and the spectators, for -my anger was very great. I heard one say, "Him! -he can eat iron!" After that, a small padlock was -fixed to the handcuff instead of the nail, and as -they were mean-spirited in their treatment to me, -so it appeared to me that they were equally timorous -and cowardly.</p> - -<p>I was after sent with the prisoners taken with -me to an armed vessel in the river, which lay off<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> -against Quebec under the command of Captain -M'Cloud of the British, who treated me in a very -generous and obliging manner, and according to -my rank; in about twenty-four hours I bid him -farewell with regret, but my good fortune still -continued. The name of the captain of the vessel -I was put on board was Littlejohn, who with -his officers behaved in a polite, generous, and -friendly manner. I lived with them in the cabin -and fared on the best, my irons being taken off, -contrary to the order he had received from the -commanding officer, but Captain Littlejohn swore -that a brave man should not be used as a rascal -on board his ship.</p> - -<p>That I found myself in possession of happiness -once more, and the evils I had lately suffered -gave me an uncommon relish for it.</p> - -<p>Captain Littlejohn used to go to Quebec almost -every day in order to pay his respects to certain -gentlemen and ladies; being there on a certain -day, he happened to meet with some disagreeable -treatment as he imagined, from a Lieutenant of a -man-of-war and one word brought on another, until -the Lieutenant challenged him to a duel on the -plains of Abraham. Captain Littlejohn was a -gentleman, who entertained a high sense of honor, -and could do no less than accept the challenge.</p> - -<p>At nine o'clock the next morning they were to -fight. The captain returned in the evening, and -acquainted his lieutenant and me with the affair. -His lieutenant was a high-blooded Scotchman, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> -well as himself, who replied to his captain that -he should not want for a second. With this I interrupted -him and gave the captain to understand -that since an opportunity had presented, I would -be glad to testify my gratitude to him by acting -the part of a faithful second; on which he gave -me his hand, and said that he wanted no better -man. Says he, I am a king's officer, and you a -prisoner under my care; you must therefore go -with me to the place appointed in disguise, and -added further: "You must engage me, upon the -honor of a gentleman, that whether I die or live, -or whatever happens, provided you live, that you -will return to my lieutenant on board this ship." -All this I solemnly engaged him. The combatants -were to discharge each a pocket pistol, and -then to fall on with their iron-hilted muckle -whangers, and one of that sort was allotted for -me; but some British officers, who interposed -early in the morning, settled the controversy without -fighting.</p> - -<p>Now having enjoyed eight or nine days' happiness -from the polite and generous treatment of -Captain Littlejohn and his officers, I was obliged -to bid them farewell, parting with them in as -friendly a manner as we had lived together, which, -to the best of my memory, was the eleventh of -November; when a detachment of General Arnold's -little army appeared on Point Levi, opposite -Quebec, who had performed an extraordinary -march through a wilderness country with design<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> -to have surprised the capital of Canada; I was -then taken on board a vessel called the <i>Adamant</i>, -together with the prisoners taken with me, and -put under the power of an English merchant from -London, whose name was Brook Watson; a man -of malicious and cruel disposition, and who was -probably excited, in the exercise of his malevolence, -by a junto of tories who sailed with him -to England; among whom were Colonel Guy -Johnson, Colonel Closs, and their attendants and -associates, to the number of about thirty.</p> - -<p>All the ship's crew, Colonel Closs in his personal -behavior excepted, behaved toward the prisoners -with that spirit of bitterness which is the -peculiar characteristic of tories when they have -the friends of America in their power, measuring -their loyalty to the English king by the barbarity, -fraud and deceit which they exercised toward -the whigs.</p> - -<p>A small place in the vessel, inclosed with white-oak -plank, was assigned for the prisoners, and for -me among the rest. I should imagine that it was -not more than twenty feet one way, and twenty-two -the other. Into this place we were all, to the -number of thirty-four, thrust and handcuffed, two -prisoners more being added to our number, and -were provided with two excrement tubs; in this -circumference we were obliged to eat and perform -the offices of evacuation during the voyage to -England, and were insulted by every blackguard -sailor and tory on board, in the cruellest manner;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> -but what is the most surprising thing is, that not -one of us died in the passage. When I was first -ordered to go into the filthy inclosure, through a -small sort of door, I positively refused, and endeavored -to reason the before-named Brook Watson -out of a conduct so derogatory to every sentiment -of honor and humanity, but all to no purpose, my -men being forced in the den already; and the -rascal who had the charge of the prisoners commanded -me to go immediately in among the rest. -He further added, that the place was good enough -for a rebel; that it was impertinent for a capital -offender to talk of honor or humanity; that anything -short of a halter was too good for me, and -that would be my portion soon after I landed in -England, for which purpose only I was sent -thither. About the same time a lieutenant among -the tories insulted me in a grievous manner, saying -I ought to have been executed for my rebellion -against New York, and spit in my face, upon -which, though I was in handcuffs, I sprang at -him with both hands and knocked him partly -down, but he scrambled along into the cabin, and -I after him; there he got under the protection of -some men with fixed bayonets, who were ordered -to make ready to drive me into the place aforementioned. -I challenged him to fight, notwithstanding -the impediments that were on my hands, -and had the exalted pleasure to see the rascal -tremble for fear; his name I have forgot, but Watson -ordered his guard to get me into the place<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> -with the other prisoners, dead or alive; and I had -almost as lieve died as do it, standing it out till -they environed me round with bayonets, and brutish, -prejudiced, abandoned wretches they were, -from whom I could expect nothing but wounds or -death; however, I told them that they were good -honest fellows, that I could not blame them; that -I was only in dispute with a calico merchant, who -knew not how to behave toward a gentleman of -the military establishment. This was spoken -rather to appease them for my own preservation, -as well as to treat Watson with contempt; but still -I found they were determined to force me into the -wretched circumstances, which their prejudiced -and depraved minds had prepared for me; therefore, -rather than die I submitted to their indignities, -being drove with bayonets into the filthy -dungeon with the other prisoners, where we were -denied fresh water, except a small allowance, -which was very inadequate to our wants; and in -consequence of the stench of the place, each of us -was soon followed with a diarrhœa and fever, -which occasioned intolerable thirst. When we -asked for water, we were, most commonly, instead -of obtaining it, insulted and derided; and to add to -all the horrors of the place, it was so dark that we -could not see each other, and were overspread with -body-lice. We had, notwithstanding these severities, -full allowance of salt provisions, and a gill of -rum per day; the latter of which was of the utmost -service to us, and, probably, was the means of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> -saving several of our lives. About forty days we -existed in this manner, when the land's end of -England was discovered from the mast head; soon -after which, the prisoners were taken from their -gloomy abode, being permitted to see the light of -the sun, and breathe fresh air, which to us was -very refreshing. The day following we landed at -Falmouth.</p> - -<p>A few days before I was taken prisoner I shifted -my clothes, by which I happened to be taken in -a Canadian dress, viz., a short fawn-skin jacket, -double breasted, an undervest and breeches of -sagathy, worsted stockings, a decent pair of shoes, -two plain shirts, and a red worsted cap; this was -all the clothing I had, in which I made my appearance -in England.</p> - -<p>When the prisoners were landed, multitudes of -the citizens of Falmouth, excited by curiosity, -crowded to see us, which was equally gratifying -to us. I saw numbers on the house tops and the -rising adjacent grounds were covered with them, -of both sexes. The throng was so great, that the -king's officers were obliged to draw their swords, -and force a passage to Pendennis castle, which -was near a mile from the town, where we were -closely confined, in consequence of orders from -General Carleton, who then commanded in Canada.</p> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span></p> - - <div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a><a href="#CONTENTS">CHAPTER XII.</a></h2> - -<p class="pfs70">LIFE IN PENDENNIS CASTLE.—LORD NORTH.—ON -BOARD THE "SOLEBAY."—ATTENTIONS RECEIVED -IN IRELAND AND MADEIRA.</p> - - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>The rascally Brook Watson then set out for London -in great haste, expecting the reward of his -zeal; but the ministry received him, as I have -been since informed, rather coolly; but the minority -in parliament took advantage, arguing that -the opposition of America to Great Britain was -not a rebellion. If it is, say they, why do you not -execute Colonel Allen according to law? but the -majority argued that I ought to be executed, and -that the opposition was really a rebellion, but that -policy obliged them not to do it, inasmuch as the -congress had then most prisoners in their power; -so that my being sent to England, for the purpose -of being executed, and necessity restraining them, -was rather a foil on their laws and authority, and -they consequently disapproved of my being sent -thither. But I had never heard the least hint of -those debates in parliament, or of the working of -their policy, until some time after I left England.</p> - -<p>Consequently the reader will readily conceive I -was anxious about my preservation, knowing that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> -I was in the power of a haughty and cruel nation -considered as such. Therefore, the first proposition -which I determined in my own mind was, that -humanity and moral suasion would not be consulted -in the determining of my fate; and those -that daily came in great numbers out of curiosity -to see me, both gentle and simple, united in this, -that I would be hanged. A gentleman from America, -by the name of Temple, and who was friendly -to me, just whispered to me in the ear, and told -me that bets were laid in London, that I would be -executed; he likewise privately gave me a guinea, -but durst say but little to me.</p> - -<p>However, agreeably to my first negative proposition, -that moral virtue would not influence my -destiny, I had recourse to stratagem, which I was -in hopes would move in the circle of their policy. -I requested of the commander of the castle, the -privilege of writing to congress, who, after consulting -with an officer that lived in town, of a superior -rank, permitted me to write. I wrote in -the fore part of the letter, a short narrative of my -ill-treatment; but withal let them know that, -though I was treated as a criminal in England, -and continued in irons, together with those taken -with me, yet it was, in consequence of the orders -which the commander of the castle received from -General Carleton, and therefore desired congress -to desist from matters of retaliation, until they -should know the result of the government in England -respecting their treatment toward me, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> -the prisoners with me, and govern themselves accordingly, -with a particular request that, if retaliation -should be found necessary, it might be -exercised not according to the smallness of my -character in America, but in proportion to the importance -of the cause for which I suffered. This -is, according to my present recollection, the substance -of the letter inscribed: "To the illustrious -Continental Congress." This letter was written -with the view that it should be sent to the ministry -at London, rather than to congress, with a -design to intimidate the haughty English government, -and screen my neck from the halter.</p> - -<p>The next day the officer, from whom I obtained -license to write, came to see me and frowned on -me on account of the impudence of the letter, as -he phrased it, and further added, "Do you think -that we are fools in England, and would send your -letter to congress, with instructions to retaliate on -our own people? I have sent your letter to Lord -North." This gave me inward satisfaction, though -I carefully concealed it with a pretended resentment, -for I found that I had come Yankee over -him, and that the letter had gone to the identical -person I designed it for. Nor do I know to this -day, but that it had the desired effect, though I -have not heard anything of the letter since.</p> - -<p>My personal treatment by Lieutenant Hamilton, -who commanded the castle, was very generous. -He sent me every day a fine breakfast and dinner -from his own table, and a bottle of good wine.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> -Another aged gentleman, whose name I cannot recollect, -sent me a good supper. But there was no -distinction between me and the privates; we all -lodged in a sort of Dutch bunks, in one common -apartment, and were allowed straw. The privates -were well supplied with provisions, and with me, -took effectual measures to rid themselves of lice.</p> - -<p>I could not but feel, inwardly, extremely anxious -for my fate. This I, however, concealed from the -prisoners, as well as from the enemy, who were -perpetually shaking the halter at me. I nevertheless -treated them with scorn and contempt; and -having sent my letter to the ministry, could conceive -of nothing more in my power but to keep up -my spirits, behave in a daring, soldier-like manner, -that I might exhibit a good sample of American -fortitude. Such a conduct, I judged, would -have a more probable tendency to my preservation -than concession and timidity. This, therefore, -was my deportment: and I had lastly determined -in my mind, that if a cruel death must inevitably -be my portion, I would face it undaunted; and -though I greatly rejoice that I returned to my -country and friends, and to see the power and -pride of Great Britain humbled, yet I am confident -I could then have died without the least appearance -of dismay.</p> - -<p>I now clearly recollect that my mind was so resolved -that I would not have trembled or shown -the least fear, as I was sensible that it could not -alter my fate, nor do more than reproach my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> -memory, make my last act despicable to my -enemies, and eclipse the other actions of my life. -For I reasoned thus, that nothing was more common -than for men to die with their friends around -them, weeping and lamenting over them, but not -able to help them, which was in reality not different -in the consequence of it from such a death as -I was apprehensive of; and as death was the natural -consequence of animal life to which the laws -of nature subject mankind, to be timorous and uneasy -as to the event and manner of it was inconsistent -with the character of a philosopher and -soldier. The cause I was engaged in I ever viewed -worthy hazarding my life for, nor was I, in the -most critical moments of trouble, sorry that I engaged -in it; and as to the world of spirits, though -I knew nothing of the mode or manner of it, I expected -nevertheless, when I should arrive at such -a world, that I should be as well treated as other -gentlemen of my merit.</p> - -<p>Among the great numbers of people who came -to the castle to see the prisoners, some gentlemen -told me that they had come fifty miles on purpose -to see me, and desired to ask me a number of -questions, and to make free with me in conversation. -I gave for answer that I chose freedom in -every sense of the word. Then one of them asked -me what my occupation in life had been. I answered -him, that in my younger days I had studied -divinity but was a conjuror by profession. He -replied that I conjured wrong at the time I was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> -taken; and I was obliged to own that I mistook a -figure at that time, but that I had conjured them -out of Ticonderoga. This was a place of great -notoriety in England, so that the joke seemed to -go in my favor.</p> - -<p>It was a common thing for me to be taken out -of close confinement, into a spacious green in the -castle, or rather parade, where numbers of gentlemen -and ladies were ready to see and hear me. I -often entertained such audiences with harangues -on the impracticability of Great Britain's conquering -the colonies of America. At one of these -times I asked a gentleman for a bowl of punch, -and he ordered his servant to bring it, which he -did, and offered it to me, but I refused to take it -from the hand of his servant; he then gave it to -me with his own hand, refusing to drink with me -in consequence of my being a state criminal. -However, I took the punch and drank it all down -at one draught, and handed the gentleman the -bowl; this made the spectators as well as myself -merry.</p> - -<p>I expatiated on American freedom. This -gained the resentment of a young beardless gentleman -of the company, who gave himself very great -airs, and replied that he knew the Americans very -well, and was certain <ins class="corr" title="Transcriber's Note—Original text: 'thy'">they</ins> could not bear the smell -of powder. I replied that I accepted it as a challenge, -and was ready to convince him on the spot -that an American could bear the smell of powder; -at which he answered that he should not put him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>self -on a par with me. I then demanded him to -treat the character of the Americans with due respect. -He answered that I was an Irishman; but -I assured him that I was a full-blooded Yankee, -and in fine bantered him so much, that he left me -in possession of the ground, and the laugh went -against him. Two clergymen came to see me, -and inasmuch as they behaved with civility, I returned -them the same. We discoursed on several -parts of moral philosophy and Christianity; and -they seemed to be surprised that I should be acquainted -with such topics, or that I should understand -a syllogism or regular mode of argumentation. -I am apprehensive my Canadian dress -contributed not a little to the surprise and excitement -of curiosity: to see a gentleman in England -regularly dressed and well behaved would be no -sight at all; but such a rebel as they were pleased -to call me, it is probable, was never before seen -in England.</p> - -<p>The prisoners were landed at Falmouth a few -days before Christmas, and ordered on board of -the <i>Solebay</i> frigate, Captain Symonds, on the eighth -day of January, 1776, when our hand irons were -taken off. This remove was in consequence, as I -have been since informed, of a writ of habeas -corpus, which had been procured by some gentlemen -in England, in order to obtain me my liberty.</p> - -<p>The <i>Solebay</i>, with sundry other men-of-war and -about forty transports, rendezvoused at the cove of -Cork, in Ireland, to take in provisions and water.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span></p> - -<p>When we were first brought on board, Captain -Symonds ordered all the prisoners and most of -the hands on board to go on the deck, and caused -to be read in their hearing a certain code of laws -or rules for the regulation and ordering of their -behavior; and then in a sovereign manner, ordered -the prisoners, me in particular, off the deck and -never to come on it again: for, said he, this is a -place for gentlemen to walk. So I went off, an -officer following me, who told me he would show -me the place allotted to me, and took me down to -the cabin tier, saying to me this is your place.</p> - -<p>Prior to this I had taken cold, by which I was in -an ill state of health, and did not say much to the -officer; but stayed there that night, consulted my -policy, and I found I was in an evil case: that a -captain of a man-of-war was more arbitrary than -a king, as he could view his territory with a look -of his eye, and a movement of his finger commanded -obedience. I felt myself more desponding -than I had done at any time before; for I concluded -it to be a government scheme, to do that -clandestinely which policy forbid to be done under -sanction of any public justice and law.</p> - -<p>However, two days after, I shaved and cleansed -myself as well as I could, and went on deck. The -captain spoke to me in a great rage, and said: -"Did I not order you not to come on deck?" I -answered him, that at the same time he said, -"that it was the place for gentlemen to walk; that -I was Colonel Allen, but had not been properly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> -introduced to him." He replied, "—— —— you, -sir, be careful not to walk the same side of the deck -that I do." This gave me encouragement, and ever -after that I walked in the manner he had directed, -except when he, at certain times afterward, had -ordered me off in a passion, and I then would directly -afterward go on again, telling him to command -his slaves; that I was a gentleman and had -a right to walk the deck; yet when he expressly -ordered me off I obeyed, not out of obedience to -him, but to set an example to the ship's crew, who -ought to obey him.</p> - -<p>To walk to the windward side of the deck is, according -to custom, the prerogative of the captain -of the man-of-war, though he, sometimes, nay -commonly, walks with his lieutenants, when no -strangers are by. When a captain from some -other man-of-war comes on board, the captains -walk to the windward side, and the other gentlemen -to the leeward.</p> - -<p>It was but a few nights I lodged in the cabin -tier before I gained an acquaintance with the -master of arms; his name was Gillegan, an Irishman, -who was a generous and well-disposed man, -and in a friendly manner made me an offer of living -with him in a little berth, which was allotted -him between decks, and inclosed in canvas; his -preferment on board was about equal to that of a -sergeant in a regiment. I was comparatively -happy in the acceptance of his clemency, and lived -with him in friendship till the frigate anchored in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> -the harbor of Cape Fear, North Carolina, in America.</p> - -<p>Nothing of material consequence happened till -the fleet rendezvoused at the cove of Cork, except -a violent storm which brought old hardy sailors -to their prayers. It was soon rumored in Cork -that I was on board the <i>Solebay</i>, with a number -of prisoners from America, upon which Messrs. -Clark & Hays, merchants in company, and a number -of other benevolently disposed gentlemen, -contributed largely to the relief and support of -the prisoners, who were thirty-four in number, and -in very needy circumstances. A suit of clothes -from head to foot, including an overcoat or surtout, -and two shirts were bestowed upon each of -them. My suit I received in superfine broadcloth, -sufficient for two jackets and two pairs of -breeches, overplus of a suit throughout, eight fine -Holland shirts and socks ready made, with a number -of pairs of silk and worsted hose, two pairs of -shoes, two beaver hats, one of which was sent me, -richly laced with gold, by James Bonwell. The -Irish gentlemen furthermore made a large gratuity -of wines of the best sort, spirits, gin, loaf and -brown sugar, tea and chocolate, with a large round -of pickled beef, and a number of fat turkies, with -many other articles, for my sea stores, too tedious -to mention here. To the privates they bestowed -on each man two pounds of tea and six pounds of -brown sugar. These articles were received on -board at a time when the captain and first lieuten<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>ant -were gone on shore, by the permission of the -second lieutenant, a handsome young gentleman, -who was then under twenty-one years of age; his -name was Douglass, son of Admiral Douglass, as I -was informed.</p> - -<p>As this munificence was so unexpected and -plentiful, I may add needful, it impressed on my -mind the highest sense of gratitude toward my -benefactors; for I was not only supplied with the -necessaries and conveniences of life, but with the -grandeurs and superfluities of it. Mr. Hays, one -of the donators before-mentioned, came on board -and behaved in the most obliging manner, telling -me that he hoped my troubles were past, for that -the gentlemen of Cork determined to make my sea -stores equal to that of the captain of the <i>Solebay</i>; -he made an offer of live-stock and wherewith to -support them; but I knew this would be denied. -And to crown all, did send me by another person -fifty guineas, but I could not reconcile receiving -the whole to my own feelings, as it might have -the appearance of avarice, and therefore received -but seven guineas only, and am confident, not only -from the exercises of the present well-timed generosity, -but from a large acquaintance with -gentlemen of this nation, that as a people they excel -in liberality and bravery.</p> - -<p>Two days after the receipt of the aforesaid donations, -Captain Symonds came on board full of -envy toward the prisoners, and swore by all that -is good that the damned American rebels should<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> -not be feasted at this rate by the damned rebels -of Ireland; he therefore took away all my liquors -before-mentioned, except some of the wine which -was secreted, and a two-gallon jug of old spirits -which was reserved for me per favor of Lieutenant -Douglass. The taking of my liquors was abominable -in his sight. He therefore spoke in my -behalf, till the captain was angry with him, and -in consequence proceeded and took away all the -tea and sugar which had been given to the prisoners, -and confiscated it to the use of the ship's -crew. Our clothing was not taken away, but the -privates were forced to do duty on board. Soon -after this there came a boat to the side of the ship -and Captain Symonds asked a gentleman in it, in -my hearing, what his business was, who answered -that he was sent to deliver some sea stores to Colonel -Allen, which, if I remember right, he said -were sent from Dublin; but the captain damned -him heartily, ordering him away from the ship, and -would not suffer him to deliver the stores. I was -furthermore informed that the gentlemen in Cork -requested of Captain Symonds that I might be -allowed to come into the city, and that they would -be responsible I should return to the frigate at a -given time, which was denied them.</p> - -<p>We sailed from England on the 8th day of January, -and from the cove of Cork on the 12th day -of February. Just before we sailed, the prisoners -with me were divided and put on board three -different ships of war. This gave me some un<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>easiness, -for they were to a man zealous in the -cause of liberty, and behaved with a becoming -fortitude in the various scenes of their captivity; -but those who were distributed on board other -ships of war were much better used than those -who tarried with me, as appeared afterward. -When the fleet, consisting of about forty-five sail, -including five men-of-war, sailed from the cove -with a fresh breeze, the appearance was beautiful, -abstracted from the unjust and bloody designs they -had in view. We had not sailed many days before -a mighty storm arose, which lasted near -twenty-four hours without intermission. The -wind blew with relentless fury, and no man could -remain on deck, except he was lashed fast, for the -waves rolled over the deck by turns, with a forcible -rapidity, and every soul on board was anxious -for the preservation of the ship, alias their -lives. In this storm the <i>Thunder-bomb</i> man-of-war -sprang <ins class="corr" title="Transcriber's Note—Original text: 'aleak'">a leak</ins>, and was afterward floated to some -part of the coast of England, and the crew saved. -We were then said to be in the Bay of Biscay. -After the storm abated, I could plainly discern the -prisoners were better used for some considerable -time.</p> - -<p>Nothing of consequence happened after this, -till we sailed to the island of Madeira, except a -certain favor I had received of Captain Symonds, -in consequence of an application I made to him -for the privilege of his tailor to make me a suit of -clothes of the cloth bestowed on me in Ireland,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> -which he generously granted. I could then walk -the deck with a seeming better grace. When we -had reached Madeira and anchored, sundry gentlemen -with the captain went on shore, who, I -conclude, gave the rumor that I was in the frigate, -upon which I soon found that Irish generosity was -again excited; for a gentleman of that nation sent -his clerk on board to know of me if I could accept -a sea store from him, particularly wine. This -matter I made known to the generous Lieutenant -Douglass, who readily granted me the favor, provided -the articles could be brought on board during -the time of his command; adding that it would -be a pleasure to him to serve me, notwithstanding -the opposition he met with before. So I directed -the gentleman's clerk to inform him that I was -greatly in need of so signal a charity, and desired -the young gentleman to make the utmost dispatch, -which he did; but in the mean time Captain Symonds -and his officers came on board, and immediately -made ready for sailing; the wind at the -same time being fair, set sail when the young -gentleman was in fair sight with the aforesaid -store.</p> - -<p>The reader will doubtless recollect the seven -guineas I received at the cove of Cork. These -enabled me to purchase of the purser what I -wanted, had not the captain strictly forbidden it, -though I made sundry applications to him for that -purpose; but his answer to me, when I was sick, -was, that it was no matter how soon I was dead,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> -and that he was no ways anxious to preserve the -lives of rebels, but wished them all dead; and indeed -that was the language of most of the ship's -crew. I expostulated not only with the captain, but -with other gentlemen on board, on the unreasonableness -of such usage; inferring that inasmuch -as the government in England did not proceed -against me as a capital offender, they should not; -for that they were by no means empowered by -any authority, either civil or military, to do so; -for the English government had acquitted me by -sending me back a prisoner of war to America, -and that they should treat me as such. I further -drew an inference of impolicy on them, provided -they should by hard usage destroy my life; inasmuch -as I might, if living, redeem one of their -officers; but the captain replied that he needed -no directions of mine how to treat a rebel; that -the British would conquer the American rebels, -hang the Congress and such as promoted the rebellion, -me in particular, and retake their own prisoners; -so that my life was of no consequence in -the scale of their policy. I gave him for answer -that if they stayed till they conquered America -before they hanged me, I should die of old age, -and desired that till such an event took place, he -would at least allow me to purchase of the purser, -for my own money, such articles as I greatly -needed; but he would not permit it, and when I -reminded him of the generous and civil usage that -their prisoners in captivity in America met with,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> -he said that it was not owing to their goodness, -but to their timidity; for, said he, they expect to -be conquered, and therefore dare not misuse our -prisoners; and in fact this was the language of the -British officers till Burgoyne was taken; happy -event! and not only of the officers but the whole -British army. I appeal to all my brother prisoners -who have been with the British in the -southern department for a confirmation of what I -have advanced on this subject. The surgeon of -the <i>Solebay</i>, whose name was North, was a very -humane, obliging man, and took the best care of -the prisoners who were sick.</p> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span></p> - - <div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a><a href="#CONTENTS">CHAPTER XIII.</a></h2> - -<p class="pfs70">RENDEZVOUS AT CAPE FEAR.—SICKNESS.—HALIFAX -JAIL.—LETTER TO GENERAL MASSEY.—VOYAGE -TO NEW YORK.—ON PAROLE.</p> - - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>The third day of May we cast anchor in the harbor -of Cape Fear, in North Carolina, as did Sir -Peter Parker's ship, of fifty guns, a little back of -the bar; for there was not depth of water for him -to come into the harbor. These two men-of-war, -and fourteen sail of transports and others, came -after, so that most of the fleet rendezvoused at -Cape Fear for three weeks. The soldiers on -board the transports were sickly, in consequence -of so long a passage; add to this the small-pox -carried off many of them. They landed on the -main, and formed a camp; but the riflemen annoyed -them, and caused them to move to an island -in the harbor; but such cursing of riflemen I -never heard.</p> - -<p>A detachment of regulars was sent up Brunswick -River; as they landed they were fired on by -those marksmen, and they came back next day -damning the rebels for their unmanly way of -fighting, and swearing they would give no quarter, -for they took sight at them, and were behind tim<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span>ber, -skulking about. One of the detachments said -they lost one man; but a negro man who was with -them, and heard what was said, soon after told me -that he helped to bury thirty-one of them; this -did me some good to find my countrymen giving -them battle; for I never heard such swaggering -as among General Clinton's little army, who commanded -at that time; and I am apt to think there -were four thousand men, though not two-thirds of -them fit for duty. I heard numbers of them say -that the trees in America should hang well with -fruit that campaign, for they would give no quarter. -This was in the mouths of most who I heard -speak on the subject, officer as well as soldier. I -wished at that time my countrymen knew, as -well as I did, what a murdering and cruel enemy -they had to deal with; but experience has since -taught this country what they are to expect at the -hands of Britons when in their power.</p> - -<p>The prisoners who had been sent on board different -men-of-war at the cove of Cork were collected -together, and the whole of them put on -board the <i>Mercury</i> frigate, Captain James Montague, -except one of the Canadians, who died on the -passage from Ireland, and Peter Noble, who made -his escape from the <i>Sphynx</i> man-of-war in this -harbor, and, by extraordinary swimming, got safe -home to New England and gave intelligence of -the usage of his brother prisoners. The <i>Mercury</i> -set sail from this port for Halifax about the 20th -of May, and Sir Peter Parker was about to sail<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> -with the land forces, under the command of General -Clinton, for the reduction of Charleston, the capital -of South Carolina, and when I heard of his -defeat in Halifax, it gave me inexpressible satisfaction.</p> - -<p>I now found myself under a worse captain than -Symonds; for Montague was loaded with prejudices -against everybody and everything that -was not stamped with royalty; and being by nature -underwitted, his wrath was heavier than the -others, or at least his mind was in no instance -liable to be diverted by good sense, humor or -bravery, of which Symonds was by turns susceptible. -A Captain Francis Proctor was added to our -number of prisoners when we were first put on -board this ship. This gentleman had formerly -belonged to the English service. The captain, -and in fine, all the gentlemen of the ship were -very much incensed against him, and put him in -irons without the least provocation, and he was continued -in this miserable situation about three -months. In this passage the prisoners were infected -with the scurvy, some more and some less, -but most of them severely. The ship's crew was -to a great degree troubled with it, and I concluded -it was catching. Several of the crew died -with it on their passage. I was weak and feeble -in consequence of so long and cruel a captivity, -yet had but little of the scurvy.</p> - -<p>The purser was again expressly forbid by the -captain to let me have anything out of his store;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> -upon which I went upon deck, and in the handsomest -manner requested the favor of purchasing -a few necessaries of the purser, which was denied -me; he further told me, that I should be hanged -as soon as I arrived at Halifax. I tried to reason -the matter with him, but found him proof against -reason; I also held up his honor to view, and his -behavior to me and the prisoners in general, as -being derogatory to it, but found his honor impenetrable. -I then endeavored to touch his humanity, -but found he had none; for his prepossession -of bigotry to his own party had confirmed -him in an opinion that no humanity was due to -unroyalists, but seemed to think that heaven and -earth were made merely to gratify the king and -his creatures; he uttered considerable unintelligible -and grovelling ideas, a little tinctured with -monarchy but stood well to his text of hanging -me. He afterward forbade his surgeon to administer -any help to the sick prisoners. I was every -night shut down in the cable tier with the rest of -the prisoners, and we all lived miserably while -under his power. But I received some generosity -from several of the midshipmen who in degree -alleviated my misery; one of their names was -Putrass; the names of the others I do not recollect; -but they were obliged to be private in the bestowment -of their favor, which was sometimes -good wine bitters and at others a generous drink -of grog.</p> - -<p>Some time in the first week of June, we came to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> -anchor at the Hook of New York, where we remained -but three days; in which time Governor -Tryon, Mr. Kemp, the old attorney-general of -New York, and several other perfidious and overgrown -tories and land-jobbers, came on board. -Tryon viewed me with a stern countenance, as I -was walking on the leeward side of the deck with -the midshipmen; and he and his companions were -walking with the captain and lieutenant on the -windward side of the same, but never spoke to me, -though it is altogether probable that he thought -of the old quarrel between him, the old government -of New York, and the Green Mountain Boys. -Then they went with the captain into the cabin, -and the same afternoon returned on board a vessel, -where at that time they took sanctuary from the -resentment of their injured country. What passed -between the officers of the ship and these visitors -I know not; but this I know, that my treatment -from the officers was more severe afterward.</p> - -<p>We arrived at Halifax not far from the middle -of June, where the ship's crew, which was infested -with the scurvy, were taken on shore and shallow -trenches dug, into which they were put, and partly -covered with earth. Indeed, every proper measure -was taken for their relief. The prisoners were not -permitted any sort of medicine, but were put on -board a sloop which lay in the harbor, near the -town of Halifax, surrounded by several men-of-war -and their tenders, and a guard constantly set -over them, night and day. The sloop we had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> -wholly to ourselves, except the guard who occupied -the forecastle; here we were cruelly pinched with -hunger; it seemed to me that we had not more -than one-third of the common allowance. We -were all seized with violent hunger and faintness; -we divided our scanty allowance as exact as possible. -I shared the same fate with the rest, and -though they offered me more than an even share, -I refused to accept it, as it was a time of substantial -distress, which in my opinion I ought to -partake equally with the rest, and set an example -of virtue and fortitude to our little commonwealth.</p> - -<p>I sent letter after letter to Captain Montague, -who still had the care of us, and also to his lieutenant, -whose name I cannot call to mind, but -could obtain no answer, much less a redress of -grievances; and to add to the calamity, nearly a -dozen of the prisoners were dangerously ill of the -scurvy. I wrote private letters to the doctors, to -procure, if possible, some remedy for the sick, but -in vain. The chief physician came by in a boat, -so close that the oars touched the sloop that we -were in, and I uttered my complaint in the genteelest -manner to him, but he never so much as -turned his head, or made me any answer, though -I continued speaking till he got out of hearing. -Our cause then became deplorable. Still I kept -writing to the captain, till he ordered the guards, -as they told me, not to bring any more letters -from me to him. In the mean time an event happened -worth relating. One of the men, almost<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> -dead with the scurvy, lay by the side of the sloop, -and a canoe of Indians coming by, he purchased -two quarts of strawberries, and ate them at once, -and it almost cured him. The money he gave for -them was all the money he had in the world. -After that we tried every way to procure more of -that fruit, reasoning from analogy that they might -have the same effect on others infested with the -same disease, but could obtain none.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the doctor's mate of the <i>Mercury</i> -came privately on board the prison sloop and presented -me with a large vial of smart drops, which -proved to be good for the scurvy, though vegetables -and some other ingredients were requisite for -a cure: but the drops gave at least a check to the -disease. This was a well-timed exertion of humanity, -but the doctor's name has slipped my -mind, and in my opinion, it was the means of saving -the lives of several men.</p> - -<p>The guard which was set over us was by this -time touched with feelings of compassion; and I -finally trusted one of them with a letter of complaint -to Governor Arbuthnot, of Halifax, which -he found means to communicate, and which had -the desired effect; for the governor sent an officer -and surgeon on board the prison sloop to know -the truth of the complaint. The officer's name -was Russell; he held the rank of lieutenant, and -treated me in a friendly and polite manner, and -was really angry at the cruel and unmanly usage -the prisoners met with; and with the surgeon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> -made a true report of matters to Governor Arbuthnot, -who, either by his order or influence, took us -next day from the prison sloop to Halifax jail, -where I first became acquainted with the now -Hon. James Lovel, one of the members of Congress -for the State of Massachusetts. The sick -were taken to the hospital, and the Canadians, -who were effective, were employed in the king's -works; and when their countrymen were recovered -from the scurvy and joined them, they all deserted -the king's employ, and were not heard of at Halifax -as long as the remainder of the prisoners continued -there, which was till near the middle of -October. We were on board the prison sloop -about six weeks, and were landed at Halifax near -the middle of August. Several of our English-American -prisoners, who were cured of the scurvy -at the hospital, made their escape from thence, -and after a long time reached their old habitations.</p> - -<p>I had now but thirteen with me of those who -were taken in Canada, and remained in jail with -me at Halifax, who, in addition to those that were -imprisoned before, made our number about thirty-four, -who were all locked up in one common large -room, without regard to rank, education, or any -other accomplishment, where we continued from -the setting to the rising sun; and as sundry of -them were infected with the jail and other distempers, -the furniture of this spacious room consisted -principally of excrement tubs. We petitioned -for a removal of the sick into the hospitals,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> -but were denied. We remonstrated against the -ungenerous usage of being confined with the privates, -as being contrary to the laws and customs -of nations, and particularly ungrateful in them in -consequence of the gentleman-like usage which -the British imprisoned officers met with in America; -and thus we wearied ourselves, petitioning -and remonstrating, but to no purpose at all; for -General Massey, who commanded at Halifax, was -as inflexible as the devil himself, a fine preparative -this for Mr. Lovel, member of the Continental -Congress.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Russell, whom I have mentioned -before, came to visit me in prison, and assured -me that he had done his utmost to procure my -parole for enlargement; at which a British captain, -who was then town-major, expressed compassion -for the gentlemen confined in the filthy -place, and assured me that he had used his influence -to procure their enlargement; his name was -near like Ramsey. Among the prisoners there -were four in number who had a legal claim to a -parole, a Mr. Howland, master of a continental -armed vessel, a Mr. Taylor, his mate, and myself.</p> - -<p>As to the article of provision, we were well -served, much better than in any part of my captivity; -and since it was Mr. Lovel's misfortune and -mine to be prisoners, and in so wretched circumstances, -I was happy that we were together as a -mutual support to each other and to the unfortunate -prisoners with us. Our first attention was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> -the preservation of ourselves and injured little republic; -the rest of our time we devoted interchangeably -to politics and philosophy, as patience -was a needful exercise in so evil a situation, but -contentment mean and impracticable.</p> - -<p>I had not been in this jail many days, before a -worthy and charitable woman, by the name of -Mrs. Blacden, supplied me with a good dinner of -fresh meats every day, with garden fruit, and -sometimes with a bottle of wine; notwithstanding -which I had not been more than three weeks in -this place before I lost my appetite to the most -delicious food by the jail distemper, as also did -sundry of the prisoners, particularly Sergeant -Moore, a man of courage and fidelity. I have -several times seen him hold the boatswain of the -<i>Solebay</i> frigate, when he attempted to strike him, -and laughed him out of conceit of using him as a -slave.</p> - -<p>A doctor visited the sick, and did the best, as I -suppose, he could for them, to no apparent purpose. -I grew weaker and weaker, as did the rest. -Several of them could not help themselves. At -last I reasoned in my own mind that raw onion -would be good. I made use of it, and found immediate -relief by it, as did the sick in general, -particularly Sergeant Moore, whom it recovered -almost from the shades; though I had met with a -little revival, still I found the malignant hand of -Britain had greatly reduced my constitution with -stroke upon stroke. Esquire Lovel and myself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> -used every argument and entreaty that could be -well conceived of in order to obtain gentleman-like -usage, to no purpose. I then wrote General -Massey as severe a letter as I possibly could with -my friend Lovel's assistance. The contents of it -was to give the British, as a nation, and him as -an individual, their true character. This roused -the rascal, for he could not bear to see his and the -nation's deformity in that transparent letter, which -I sent him; he therefore put himself in a great -rage about it, and showed the letter to a number -of British officers, particularly to Captain Smith -of the <i>Lark</i> frigate, who instead of joining with -him in disapprobation commended the spirit of -it; upon which General Massey said to him, do -you take the part of a rebel against me? Captain -Smith answered that he rather spoke his sentiments -and there was a dissension in opinion between -them. Some officers took the part of the -general and others of the captain. This I was informed -of by a gentleman who had it from Captain -Smith.</p> - -<p>In a few days after this, the prisoners were ordered -to go on board of a man-of-war, which was -bound for New York; but two of them were not -able to go on board, and were left at Halifax; one -died; and the other recovered. This was about -the 12th of October, and soon after we had got on -board, the captain sent for me in particular to -come on the quarter deck. I went, not knowing -that it was Captain Smith or his ship at that time,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> -and expected to meet the same rigorous usage I -had commonly met with and prepared my mind -accordingly; but when I came on deck, the captain -met me with his hand, welcomed me to his ship, -invited me to dine with him that day, and assured -me that I should be treated as a gentleman, and -that he had given orders that I should be treated -with respect by the ship's crew. This was so unexpected -and sudden a transition that it drew tears -from my eyes which all the ill usage I had before -met with was not able to produce, nor could I at -first hardly speak, but soon recovered myself and -expressed my gratitude for so unexpected a favor; -and let him know that I felt anxiety of mind in -reflecting that his situation and mine was such -that it was not probable that it would ever be in -my power to return the favor. Captain Smith replied -that he had no reward in view, but only -treated me as a gentleman ought to be treated; -he said this is a mutable world, and one gentleman -never knows but it may be in his power to -help another. Soon after I found this to be the -same Captain Smith who took my part against -General Massey; but he never mentioned anything -of it to me, and I thought it impolite in me to interrogate -him as to any disputes which might -have arisen between him and the general on my -account, as I was a prisoner, and that it was at -his option to make free with me on that subject if -he pleased; and if he did not, I might take it for -granted that it would be unpleasing for me to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> -query about it, though I had a strong propensity -to converse with him on that subject.</p> - -<p>I dined with the captain agreeable to his invitation, -and oftentimes with the lieutenant, in the -gun-room, but in general ate and drank with my -friend Lovel and the other gentlemen who were -prisoners with me, where I also slept.</p> - -<p>We had a little berth inclosed with canvas, between -decks, where we enjoyed ourselves very -well, in hopes of an exchange; besides, our friends -at Halifax had a little notice of our departure and -supplied us with spirituous liquor, and many articles -of provisions for the cost. Captain Burk, -having been taken prisoner, was added to our -company (he had commanded an American armed -vessel) and was generously treated by the captain -and all the officers of the ship, as well as myself. -We now had in all near thirty prisoners on board, -and as we were sailing along the coast, if I recollect -right, off Rhode Island, Captain Burk, with -an under-officer of the ship, whose name I do not -recollect, came to our little berth, proposed to kill -Captain Smith and the principal officers of the -frigate and take it; adding that there were thirty-five -thousand pounds sterling in the same. Captain -Burk likewise averred that a strong party out -of the ship's crew was in the conspiracy, and urged -me, and the gentleman that was with me, to use -our influence with the private prisoners to execute -the design, and take the ship with the cash into -one of our own ports.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span></p> - -<p>Upon which I replied that we had been too -well used on board to murder the officers; that I -could by no means reconcile it to my conscience, -and that, in fact, it should not be done; and while -I was yet speaking my friend Lovel confirmed -what I had said, and farther pointed out the ungratefulness -of such an act; that it did not fall short -of murder, and in fine all the gentlemen in the -berth opposed Captain Burk and his colleague. -But they strenuously urged that the conspiracy -would be found out, and that it would cost them -their lives, provided they did not execute their -design. I then interposed spiritedly and put an -end to further argument on the subject, and told -them that they might depend upon it upon my -honor that I would faithfully guard Captain -Smith's life. If they should attempt the assault I -would assist him, for they desired me to remain -neuter, and that the same honor that guarded -Captain Smith's life would also guard theirs; and -it was agreed by those present not to reveal the -conspiracy, to the intent that no man should be -put to death, in consequence of what had been -projected; and Captain Burk, and his colleague -went to stifle the matter among their associates. -I could not help calling to mind what Captain -Smith said to me, when I first came on board: -"This is a mutable world, and one gentleman -never knows but that it may be in his power to -help another." Captain Smith and his officers still -behaved with their usual courtesy, and I never -heard any more of the conspiracy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span></p> - -<p>We arrived before New York, and cast anchor -the latter part of October, where we remained -several days, and where Captain Smith informed -me that he had recommended me to Admiral -Howe and General Sir William Howe, as a gentleman -of honor and veracity, and desired that I might -be treated as such. Captain Burk was then ordered -on board a prison ship in the harbor. I -took my leave of Captain Smith and, with the other -prisoners, was sent on board a transport ship -which lay in the harbor, commanded by Captain -Craige, who took me into the cabin with him and -his lieutenant. I fared as they did, and was in -every respect well treated, in consequence of directions -from Captain Smith. In a few weeks -after this I had the happiness to part with my -friend Lovel, for his sake, whom the enemy affected -to treat as a private; he was a gentleman -of merit, and liberally educated, but had no commission; -they maligned him on account of his unshaken -attachment to the cause of his country. -He was exchanged for a Governor Philip Skene -of the British. I was continued in this ship till -the latter part of November, where I contracted -an acquaintance with a captain of the British; his -name has slipped my memory. He was what we -may call a genteel, hearty fellow. I remember -an expression of his over a bottle of wine, to this -import: "That there is a greatness of soul for personal -friendship to subsist between you and me, -as we are upon opposite sides, and may at another<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> -day be obliged to face each other in the field." I -am confident that he was as faithful as any officer -in the British army. At another sitting he offered -to bet a dozen of wine that Fort Washington -would be in the hands of the British in three days. -I stood the bet, and would, had I known that that -would have been the case; and the third day afterward -we heard a heavy cannonade, and that day -the fort was taken sure enough. Some months -after, when I was on parole, he called upon me -with his usual humor, and mentioned the bet. I -acknowledged that I had lost it, but he said he -did not mean to take it, then, as I was a prisoner; -that he would another day call upon me, when -their army came to Bennington. I replied that he -was quite too generous, as I had fairly lost it; besides, -the Green Mountain Boys would not suffer -them to come to Bennington. This was all in good -humor. I should have been glad to have seen -him after the defeat at Bennington, but did not. -It was customary for a guard to attend the prisoners, -which was often changed. One was composed -of tories from Connecticut, in the vicinity -of Fairfield and Green Farms. The sergeant's -name was Hoit. They were very full of their invectives -against the country, swaggered of their -loyalty to their king, and exclaimed bitterly -against the "cowardly Yankees," as they were -pleased to term them, but finally contented themselves -with saying that when the country was -overcome they should be well rewarded for their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> -loyalty out of the estates of the whigs, which -would be confiscated. This I found to be the -general language of the tories, after I arrived -from England on the American coast. I heard -sundry of them relate, that the British generals -had engaged them an ample reward for their -losses, disappointments and expenditures, out of -the forfeited rebels' estates. This language early -taught me what to do with tories' estates, as far as -my influence can go. For it is really a game of -hazard between whig and tory. The whigs must -inevitably have lost all, in consequence of the -abilities of the tories, and their good friends the -British; and it is no more than right the tories -should run the same risk, in consequence of the -abilities of the whigs. But of this more will be -observed in the sequel of this narrative.</p> - -<p>Some of the last days of November the prisoners -were landed at New York, and I was admitted to -parole with the other officers, viz.: Proctor, Howland, -and Taylor. The privates were put into -filthy churches in New York, with the distressed -prisoners that were taken at Fort Washington; -and the second night, Sergeant Roger Moore, who -was bold and enterprising, found means to make -his escape with every one of the remaining prisoners -that were taken with him, except three, who -were soon after exchanged. So that out of thirty-one -prisoners, who went with me the round exhibited -in these sheets, two only died with the -enemy, and three only were exchanged; one of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> -whom died after he came within our lines; all -the rest, at different times, made their escape -from the enemy.</p> - -<p>I now found myself on parole, and restricted to -the limits of the city of New York, where I soon -projected means to live in some measure agreeably -to my rank, though I was destitute of cash. My -constitution was almost worn out by such a long -and barbarous captivity. The enemy gave out -that I was crazy, and wholly unmanned, but my -vitals held sound, nor was I delirious any more -than I had been from youth up; but my extreme -circumstances, at certain times, rendered it politic -to act in some measure the madman; and in consequence -of a regular diet and exercise, my blood -recruited, and my nerves in a great measure recovered -their former tone, strength and usefulness, -in the course of six months.</p></div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span></p> - - <div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a><a href="#CONTENTS">CHAPTER XIV.</a></h2> - -<p class="pfs70">RELEASE FROM PRISON.—WITH WASHINGTON AT VALLEY -FORGE.—THE HALDIMAND CORRESPONDENCE.</p> - - -<p>Allen's narrative in the preceding chapter -gives a picture of himself, of the times, -and of the treatment of prisoners by the most -civilized nation on earth. In January, 1777, -with other American officers, he was quartered -on Long Island. In August he was sent to -the provost jail in New York. May 3, 1778, -he was exchanged for Col. Alexander Campbell. -Thus he was treated as a colonel, although -he had no fixed official rank or title -beyond that informally bestowed on him by -Montgomery. He was entertained with gentlemanly -courtesy for two days at General -Campbell's headquarters on Staten Island, and -then crossed New Jersey amid the acclamations -of the people.</p> - -<p>For several days he was the guest of Washington -at Valley Forge. Here, eighteen miles -northwest of Philadelphia, where the British<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> -army was revelling in luxury, Washington, -with three thousand men suffering from cold -and hunger, was praying to God for guidance -in so sore a strait. Baron Steuben was there -fresh from the service of Frederic the Great, -disciplining the raw recruits into veteran soldiers -never again to know defeat. There were -Gates, attending a court-martial, and Putnam -and Lafayette. These were among Allen's -red-letter days; courteously entertained by -some of the best soldiers of Europe and America, -and the favored guest of Washington, -could Heaven reward him better for his long -imprisonment? Here he writes a letter to -Congress which Washington forwards inclosed -with his own. Allen began the journey -to his Vermont home in company with Gates, -arriving in Fishkill on May 18, and in Bennington -just four weeks after his release from -prison.</p> - -<p>We now come to a chapter in Allen's life -which the biographer must enter upon with a -mind free from prejudice, and with a strong -desire to assimilate the feelings of the age -when our little commonwealth was in process -of formation. About the close of the year -1776, Allen being a prisoner on parole in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> -New York, a British officer of rank sent for -him to come to his lodgings. He told him -that his fidelity, although in a wrong cause, -had recommended him to General Sir William -Howe, who wished to make him the colonel of -a regiment of tories. He proposed that Allen -in a few days should go to England, be paid -in gold instead of continental rag money, be -introduced to Lord George Germaine and -probably to the king, return to America with -Burgoyne, assist in reducing the country, and -receive a large tract of land in Vermont or -Connecticut as he preferred. Allen replied: -"If by fidelity I have recommended myself to -General Howe, I shall be loath by unfaithfulness -to lose the general's good opinion; besides, -I view the offer of land to be similar to -that which the devil offered our Saviour, 'to -give him all the kingdoms of the world to fall -down and worship him,' when the poor devil -had not one foot of land on earth."</p> - -<p>Mr. B. F. Stevens, an American resident of -London, and an indefatigable collector of documents -relating to early American history -gathered from the British archives, furnishes -a letter written by Alexander C. Wedderburn, -solicitor-general, on the morning of December<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> -27, 1775, to William Eden, under-secretary -of state. On the same day at noon a cabinet -meeting was to be held at which was to be -considered the disposition to be made of Ethan -Allen and other prisoners who had reached -England five days before. The "Lord S." -referred to is Lord Suffolk, secretary of state, -and the "Attorney" is Lord Edward Therlow, -attorney-general:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Dear Eden</span>:—I shall certainly attend Lord S. -at 12 o'clock. My idea of the Business does not -differ much from the Attorney's. My thoughts -have been employed upon it ever since I saw you, -and I am persuaded some unlucky incident must -arise if Allen and his People are kept here. It -must be understood that Government does not -mean to execute them, the Prosecution will be remiss -and the Disposition of some People to thwart -it very active. I would therefore send them back, -but I think something more might be done than -merely to return them as Prisoners to America. -Allen, by Kay's [William Kay, secret service agent -at Montreal] account, took up arms because he -was dispossessed of Lands he had settled between -Hampshire and New York, in consequence of an -order of Council settling the boundary of these two -provinces, and had balanced for some time whether -to have recourse to ye Rebels or to Mr. Carleton -[governor-general of the Province of Quebec].<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> -The doubt of being well received by the latter determined -him to join the former, and Kay adds -that he is a bold, active fellow. I would then -send to him a Person of Confidence with this Proposal: -that his case had been favorably represented -to Government; that the injury he had suffered -was some Alleviation for his crime, and that it -arose from an Abuse of an order of Council which -was never meant to dispossess the Settlers in the -Lands in debate between ye two provinces. If he -has a mind to return to his duty He may not only -have his pardon from Gen. Howe but a Company -of Rangers, and in the event if He behaves well -His lands restored on these terms, he and his men -shall be sent back to Boston at liberty; if he does -not accept them he and they must be disposed of -as the Law directs. If he should behave well it -is an Acquisition. If not there is still an Advantage -in finding a decent reason for not immediately -proceeding against him as a Rebel. Some of the -People who came over in the Ship with him, or -perhaps Kay himself, might easily settle this bargain -if it is set about directly.</p> - -<p class="right">Yours ever, <span class="pad4">A. C. W.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>A correspondent of the Burlington <cite>Free -Press</cite>, January 7, 1887, adds this comment:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>That it was agreed to in the cabinet appears -in the fact that on the very 27th December, 1775, -Lord George Germaine of the admiralty ordered -that Allen and his associates be returned to General<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> -Howe in Boston. Howe evacuated Boston March -16, 1776, went to Halifax, and thence to New -York. Allen followed him round and was ultimately -a prisoner on parole until the 6th of May, -1778, when he was exchanged for Col. Archibald -Campbell. While he was on parole the "Person -of Confidence" was found to make the proposal -suggested by Wedderburn, and Allen mentions -this in the narrative of his captivity.</p></div> - -<p>Who was the British officer of high rank -whom Howe employed to buy up Allen we do -not know, but the American whom Clinton -employed we do know: Beverly Robinson, a -Virginian, made wealthy by marriage with -Susanna Phillipse, sister of Mary Phillipse, for -whom Washington had an attachment. He -was the son of a lieutenant-governor, and an -early associate of Washington. In 1780 occurred -this third attempt to buy Allen. Robinson -was the man selected to make the proposition. -Ethan Allen was the man selected -to be bribed: not Governor Chittenden; not -the soldiers Roger Enos or Seth Warner; not -the diplomat, the treasurer, the financier of the -State, Ira Allen; not the young lawyers Nathaniel -Chipman or S. R. Bradley; but the man -who had been tempted in England and tempted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> -in New York, the man whose loyalty had not -been shaken by the endurance of British brutality -for two and one-half years. The -time to hope for success would seem to have -been December, 1775, on English soil, when -he had reasonable grounds to fear being hung -for treason, or in New York, in 1777, when -Washington had been driven out of Long Island, -out of New York City, and chased across -New Jersey. This time chosen was in 1780, -when Congress had alienated Vermont by ignoring -her claims to federation, and had treated -her with such contempt that there was almost -no hope of her joining the United States.</p> - -<p>Long Island knew of Ethan's temptation before -he did. The air was full of it. The contents -of Robinson's letter were known to the -tories before Allen received it. The letter -written in February was delivered in July. -Washington heard in July that Allen was in -New York selling himself to the British. -Schuyler had spies everywhere. They reported -Allen in Canada. General James Clinton -suspected Allen. The correspondence and -flag for cartel smelt of treason. Washington -had tried to effect an exchange of prisoners, -and failed. His letter to Haldimand was un<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span>answered. -Gooch had applied, in July, to -Washington, and Allen wrote to Washington -at the request of the governor. Washington -replied he could not prefer Warner's men to -those who had been prisoners longer, but here -the correspondence languished.</p> - -<p>In the <cite>Magazine of American History</cite>, published -in New York, January, 1887, is an article -entitled "A Curious Chapter in Vermont's -History," dated Ottawa, Canada, November, -1886, signed J. L. Payne, in which the writer -says there are hundreds of manuscripts in the -Canadian archives which prove that Vermont -narrowly escaped becoming a British province. -The chief evidence that he furnishes is -extracts from the letters of Capt. Justus Sherwood, -commissioner for General Haldimand, -Governor of Canada. These letters indicate -that on October 26, 1780, Sherwood left Miller -Bay with five privates, a flag, drum, and -fife. On October 28th he is at Herrick's -Camp, a Vermont frontier post of three hundred -men. He is blindfolded and taken to -Colonel Herrick's room. He tells Herrick -that he is sent by Major Carleton to negotiate a -cartel for the exchange of prisoners, and that -he had dispatches from Governor Haldimand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> -and Major Carleton to Governor Chittenden and -Governor Allen. Next Sherwood is at Allen's -headquarters in Castleton, and Allen having -promised absolute secrecy, Sherwood informs -him that:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>General Haldimand was no stranger to their -disputes with the other States respecting jurisdiction, -and that his excellency was perfectly well -informed of all that had lately passed between -congress and Vermont, and of the fixed intentions -of congress never to consent to Vermont's being -a separate State. General Haldimand felt that in -this congress was only duping them, and waited -for a favorable opportunity to crush them; and -therefore it was proper for them to cast off the -congressional yoke and resume their former allegiance -to the king of Great Britain, by doing -which they would secure to themselves those -privileges they had so long contended for with -New York.</p></div> - -<p>Allen is reported by Sherwood as replying -that he was attached to the interests of Vermont, -and that nothing but the continued tyranny -of Congress could drive him from allegiance -to the United States; but "Should he -have any proposals to make to General Haldimand -hereafter, they would be nearly as follows: -He will expect to command his own<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> -forces. Vermont must be a government separate -from and independent of any other Province -in America; must chose their own officers -and civil representatives; be entitled to all the -privileges of the other states offered by the -King's commissioners, and the New Hampshire -Grants as chartered by Benning Wentworth, -Governor of New Hampshire, must be -confirmed free from any patents or claims from -New York or other Provinces. He desires me -to inform His Excellency that a revolution of -this nature must be the work of time.... If, -however, Congress should grant Vermont a -seat in that Assembly as a separate State, then -this negotiation to be at an end and be kept -secret on both sides."</p> - -<p>On May 7, 1781, Ira Allen visited Canada, -and concerning a conference with him Captain -Sherwood reports to the governor:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>He says matters are not yet ripe. Governor -Chittenden, General Allen and the major part of -the leading men are anxious to bring about a neutrality, -and are fully convinced that Congress -never intends to confirm them as a separate State; -but they dare not at this time make any separate -agreement with Great Britain until the populace -are better modelled for the purpose.</p></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span></p> - -<p>A few days later Captain Sherwood reports -to the governor:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Those suspicious circumstances, with the great -opinion Allen [referring to Col. Ira Allen] seems -to entertain of the mighty power and consequence -of Vermont, induce me to think they flatter themselves -with the belief that, if Britain should invade -them, the neighboring colonies rather than -lose them as a frontier would protect them, and, -on the other hand, should congress invade them, -they could easily be admitted to a union with -Britain at the latest hour, which they would at -the last extremity choose as the least of two evils; -for Allen says they hate congress like the devil, -and have not yet a very good opinion of Britain. -Sometimes I am inclined, from Allen's discourse, -to hope and almost believe that they are endeavoring -to prepare for a reunion. To this I suppose -I am somewhat inclined by my anxious desire that -it may be so.</p></div> - -<p>Upon Col. Ira Allen's return to Vermont, -Captain Sherwood reports:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>I believe Allen has gone with a full determination -to do his utmost for a reunion, and I believe -he will be seconded by Governor Chittenden, his -brother Ethan Allen and a few others, all acting -from interest, without any principle of loyalty.</p></div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span></p> - - <div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a><a href="#CONTENTS">CHAPTER XV.</a></h2> - -<p class="pfs70">VERMONT'S TREATMENT BY CONGRESS.—ALLEN'S LETTERS -TO COLONEL WEBSTER AND TO CONGRESS.—REASONS -FOR BELIEVING ALLEN A PATRIOT.</p> - - -<p>The conduct of Congress in asking New -York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire to -empower it to settle Vermont, without allowing -her to act as a party but allowing her to -look on, dallying and postponing the measure -indefinitely, indicated New York's control of -Congress, and, as might have been expected, -Vermont's prowess and pluck would not submit -to organic annihilation without a fight. -The British, under advice from home, might -easily strive to take advantage of the bitter -feelings engendered. Congress was struggling -with the question of the ownership of western -lands. Virginia and New York claimed almost -all, the former by virtue of Clarke's conquests -and the latter by purchase of the Iroquois, -both shadowy, attenuated claims. The -smaller States wanted Vermont in the Union<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> -to vote against these claims. Ethan Allen's -letters, showing the turmoil of feeling in Vermont, -as well as his own patriotism, have often -been quoted.</p> - -<p>To Colonel Webster he wrote:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Sir</span>:—Last evening I received a flag from Major -Carleton commanding the British forces at Crown -Point, with proposals from General Haldimand, -commander-in-chief in Canada, for settling a cartel -for the exchange of prisoners. Major Carleton -has pledged his faith that no hostilities shall be -committed on any posts or scouts within the limits -of this state during the negotiation. Lest -your state [New York] should suffer an incursion -in the interim of time, I have this day dispatched -a flag to Major Carleton, requesting that he extend -cessation of hostilities on the northern parts -and frontiers of New York. You will therefore -conduct your affairs as to scouts, &c., only on the -defensive until you hear further from me.</p> - -<p class="right">I am, &c., <span class="smcap pad4">Ethan Allen</span>.</p> - -<p class="negin2 small">To Colonel Webster. To be communicated to Colonel -Williams and the posts on your frontier.</p> -</div> - -<p>He also wrote to Colonel Webster:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="right padr2"><span class="smcap">Rupert</span>, about break of day</p> -<p class="right">of the 31st October, 1780.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Sir</span>:—Maj. Ebenezer Allen who commands at -Pittsford has sent an express to me at this place,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> -informing me that one of his scouts at 1 or 2 -o'clock <span class="fs70">P.M.</span> on the 29th instant, from Chimney -Point, discovered four or five ships and gun-boats -and batteaux, the lake covered and black, all -making sail to Ticonderoga, skiffs flying to and -from the vessels to the batteaux giving orders, -and the foregoing quoted from the letter verbatim. -But I cannot imagine that Major Carleton will violate -his truce. I have sent Major Clarke with a -flag to Major Carleton, particularly to confirm the -truce on my part, and likewise to intercede in -behalf of the frontiers of New York. What the -motion of the British may be, or their design, I -know not. You must judge for yourself. I send -out scouts to further discover the object of the -enemy. Maj. [Ebenezer] Allen thinks they have -a design against your state.</p> - -<p>From your humble servant,</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Ethan Allen</span>.</p> -</div> - -<p>He wrote to the president of Congress:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Sunderland</span>, 9 March, 1781.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Sir</span>:—Inclosed I transmit your excellency two -letters which I received under the signature -thereto annexed, that they may be laid before congress. -Shall make no comments on them, but -submit the disposal of them to their consideration. -They are the identical and only letters I ever received -from him, and to which I have never returned -any manner of answer, nor have I ever had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> -the least personal acquaintance with him, directly -or indirectly. The letter of the 2d February, -1781, I received a few days afore with a duplicate -of the other, which I received the latter part of -July last past, in the high road in Arlington, -which I laid before Governor Chittenden and a -number of other principal gentlemen of the state -(within ten minutes after I received it) for advice; -the result, after mature deliberation, and considering -the extreme circumstances of the state, was to -take no further notice of the matter. The reasons -of such a procedure are very obvious to people of -this state, when they consider that congress has -previously claimed an exclusive right of arbitrating -on the existence of Vermont as a separate -government. New York, New Hampshire and -Massachusetts Bay at the same time claiming this -territory, either in whole or in part, and exerting -their influence to make schisms among the citizens, -thereby in a considerable degree weakening this -government and exposing its inhabitants to the -incursions of the British troops and their savage -allies from the province of Quebec. It seems -that those governments, regardless of Vermont's -contiguous situation to Canada, do not consider -that their northern frontiers have been secured by -her, nor of the merit of this state in a long and -hazardous war, but have flattered themselves with -the expectation that this state could not fail (their -help) to be desolated by a foreign enemy, and that -their exorbitant claims and avaricious designs may<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> -at some future period take place in this district of -country. Notwithstanding those complicated embarrassments, -and I might add discouragements, -Vermont during the last campaign defended her -frontiers, and at the close of it opened a truce -with General Haldimand (who commands the -British troops in Canada) in order to settle a cartel -for the mutual exchange of prisoners, which -continued near four weeks in the same situation, -during which time Vermont secured the northern -frontiers of her own, and that of the state of New -York in consequence of my including the latter in -the truce, although that government could have -but little claim to my protection. I am confident -that congress will not dispute my sincere attachment -to the cause of my country, though I do not -hesitate to say I am fully grounded in opinion -that Vermont has indubitable right to agree on -terms of cessation of hostilities with Great Britain, -provided the United States persist in rejecting -her application for a union with them, for Vermont -of all people would be the most miserable -were she obliged to defend the independence of -United States and they at the same time claiming -full liberty to overturn and ruin the independence -of Vermont. I am persuaded when congress -considers the circumstances of this state, they will -be more surprised that I have transmitted them -the inclosed letters than that I have kept them in -custody so long, for I am as resolutely determined -to defend the independence of Vermont, as con<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>gress -are that of the United States, and, rather -than fail, will retire with hardy Green Mountain -Boys into the desolate caverns of the mountains -and wage war with human nature at large.</p> - -<p class="right">(Signed) <span class="smcap pad4">Ethan Allen.</span></p> - -<p class="negin2 small">His Excellency Samuel Huntingdon, Esq., Pres. of Congress.</p> -</div> - -<p>Allen wrote to General Schuyler:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Bennington</span>, May 15, 1781.</p> - -<p>A flag which I sent last fall to the British commanding -officer at Crown Point, and which was -there detained near one month, on their return -gave me to understand that they [the British], at -several different times, threatened to captivate your -own person: said that it had been in their power -to take some of your family the last campaign -[during Carleton's invasion in October, 1780, probably], -but that they had an eye to yourself. I -must confess that such conversation before my flag -seems rather flummery than real premeditated -design. However, that there was such conversation -I do not dispute, which you will make such -improvement of as you see fit. I shall conclude -with assuring your honor, that notwithstanding -the late reports, or rather surmises of my corresponding -with the enemy to the prejudice of the -United States, it is wholly without foundation.</p> - -<p>I am, sir, with due respect, your honor's obedient -and humble servant,</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Ethan Allen</span>.</p> - -<p class="noindent small">To General Schuyler.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span></p> - -<p>The following letter, believed by some people -to have been written by Allen to General -Haldimand, June 16, 1782, though unsigned, -contains what is considered by his traducers -damning evidence:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Sir</span>:—I have to acquaint your excellency that I -had a long conference with ... [a British agent] -last night. He tells me that through the channel -of A [Sherwood] he had to request me in your -name to repair to the shipping on Lake Champlain, -to hold a personal conference with his [your] -excellency. But as the bearer is now going to -get out of my house to repair to his excellency, -and would have set out yesterday had not the intelligence -of the arrival of ... postponed it -until to-day. I thought it expedient to wait your -excellency reconsidering the matter, after discussing -the peculiar situation of both the external -and internal policy of this state with the gentleman -who will deliver this to you, and shall have, -by the time your excellency has been acquainted -with the state of the facts now existing, time to -bring about a further and more extended connection -in favor of the British interest which is now -working at the general assembly at Windsor, near -the Connecticut River. The last refusal of congress -to admit this state into union has done more -to awaken the common people to a sense of that -interest and resentment of their conduct than all -which they had done before. By their own ac<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span>count, -they declare that Vermont does not and -shall not belong to their confederacy. The consequence -is, that they may fight their own battles. -It is liberty which they say they are after, but will -not extend it to Vermont. Therefore Vermont -does not belong either to the confederacy or the -controversy, but are a neutral republic. All the -frontier towns are firm with these gentlemen in -the present administration of government, and, -to speak within bounds, they have a clear majority -of the rank and file in their favor. I am, etc.</p> - -<p>N. B.—If it should be your excellency's pleasure, -after having conversed with the gentleman who -will deliver these lines, that I should wait on your -excellency at any part of Lake Champlain, I will -do it, except I should find that it would hazard my -life too much. There is a majority in congress, -and a number of the principal officers of the continental -army continually planning against me. I -shall do everything in my power to render this -state a British province.</p></div> - -<p>Ira Allen, that shrewd politician, says of the -letter:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>This we consider a political proceeding to prevent -the British forces from invading this State.</p></div> - -<p>Our reasons for believing Ethan Allen always -a patriot are:</p> - -<p>First. His known faithfulness to the American -cause in every case.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span></p> - -<p>Second. His hatred of the British and contemptuous -rejection of their proffers of honor -and emoluments when in their power and in -no personal danger if he accepted them.</p> - -<p>Third. His natural obstinacy in clinging to -a cause he had espoused.</p> - -<p>Fourth. The repeated efforts of the Vermont -government, in which Allen was engaged, -to induce Congress to admit it to the -Union continued during the negotiation.</p> - -<p>Fifth. At Allen's request the truce offered -by the British included New York's eastern -frontier, and Vermont promptly responded to -all calls upon her for help.</p> - -<p>Sixth. There is reason to believe that General -Washington was informed by General Allen, -in advance of the Haldimand negotiations, -of their purpose.</p> - -<p>The state's peculiar frontier, threatened by -Canada, unsupported by the other states, disturbed -by internal dissensions, unable to defend -herself by force, made it necessary to use strategy. -No authority was given the commissioners -by the executive or by the legislature to -treat of anything but an exchange of prisoners. -There is no record that I can find that an effort -was made at any time to induce Vermont<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span>ers -at large to consider the subject of a British -union. Indeed, Governor Chittenden, in 1793, -giving a list of those in the secret, mentions -only eight, although Ira Allen said, in 1781, -that more were added.</p> - -<p>It seems to me that Allen shows in this correspondence -the talent of a diplomat, a talent -which our state needed in its formative period -to supplement the audacity of the hardy Green -Mountain Boys. There could be no question -of disloyalty to the United States, because Vermont -had never belonged to them. He was -intensely loyal to his own state, for whose welfare -he strove, and if Congress still refused to -admit her to the Union, there was no other resource -than to ally her with Great Britain in -self-defence.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span></p> - - <div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a><a href="#CONTENTS">CHAPTER XVI.</a></h2> - -<p class="pfs70">ALLEN WITH GATES.—AT BENNINGTON.—DAVID REDDING.—REPLY -TO CLINTON.—EMBASSIES TO CONGRESS.—COMPLAINT -AGAINST BROTHER LEVI.—ALLEN -IN COURT.</p> - - -<p>When Allen bade adieu to Washington at -Valley Forge, he rode on horseback to Fishkill -with General Gates and suite, arriving at -that place on the 18th of May, 1778, the very -day his brother Heman died at Salisbury. -The six or eight days occupied by the trip -across New Jersey seems to have been one of -unalloyed enjoyment to the hero of Ticonderoga. -He tells us that Gates treated him with -the generosity of a lord and the freedom of a -boon companion. That this intercourse impressed -Gates favorably with Allen his correspondence -with General Stark later demonstrates. -On Sunday evening, the 31st of May, -Allen arrived at Bennington. The town being -orthodox and Congregationalist, Sunday is -observed with Puritanic severity, but he finds<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> -the people too jubilant for religious solemnity. -The old iron six-pound cannon from Fort Hoosac -is brought out and fired in honor of the -new state of Vermont.</p> - -<p>What changes have taken place during his -three years' absence! His only son is dead; -his wife and four daughters are in Sunderland; -two brothers have become state officers. Levi -Allen, one of the foremost Green Mountain -Boys in 1775, has now become a tory. Burgoyne -has swept along the western borders -and has been captured. Allen's old followers, -under Seth Warner, have won renown at Quebec, -Montreal, Hubbardston, Bennington, Saratoga, -and Ticonderoga. The constitution has -been formed and the state government organized. -A legislature has been elected, held one -session, and adjourned to meet again this -week.</p> - -<p>One of the great spectacles of the Anglo-Saxon -civilization had been appointed for this -time and place. A criminal, David Redding, -convicted of treason, was to be executed. -Upon a petition for rehearing on the ground -that he had been convicted by a jury of only -six men, the governor had reprieved Redding -until Thursday, the 11th. The news of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span> -reprieve, noised through the town, called together -a disappointed and angry crowd, in the -midst of which Allen appeared, mounted a -stump, and cried: "Attention, the whole!" -He then expressed his sympathy with the people, -explained the illegality of the trial, and -told them to go home and return in a week, -and they "shall see a man hung; if not Redding, -I will be," and the appeased crowd peaceably -dispersed. In the next trial Allen was -appointed state's attorney to prosecute Redding, -who was condemned.</p> - -<p>Soon Allen's attention is called to the controversy -between New York and Vermont. -In the preceding February, after the constitution -was adopted, before the government -was inaugurated, Governor Clinton, of New -York, issued a proclamation ostentatious with -apparent clemency and generosity. Ethan -Allen was selected as the proper man to expose -the pompous fraud. Clinton began by -saying that the disaffection existing in Vermont -was partially justified by the atrocious -acts of the British government while New -York was a colony, the act of outlawry which -sentenced Allen and others to death without -trial, the fees and unjust preference in grants<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> -to servants of the crown over honest settlers, -and he offered to discharge all claims under -the outlawry act, to reduce the New York -quit-rents to the New Hampshire rate, to make -the fees of patents reasonable, and to confirm -all grants made by New Hampshire and Massachusetts.</p> - -<p>Allen replied, in a pamphlet, that the British -act of outlawry had been dead by its own provision -two and a half years, no thanks to Clinton; -that most of the grants of New Hampshire -and Massachusetts had been covered by New -York patents, and that, as a matter of law, it -was impossible for New York to cancel her -former patents and confirm the New Hampshire -grants, and he cited the opinion of the -lords of trade to that effect.</p> - -<p>But Vermont was in a dangerous position in -reference to New Hampshire. A portion of -that state had seceded and united with Vermont. -The two states had fought side by -side, but now New Hampshire had become -unfriendly and remained so for years. The -governor and council, perplexed with the difficulty, -appointed Allen an agent to visit Congress -and ask for advice. This is his first -embassy from Vermont to Congress. He re<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>ported -that "unless the union with New -Hampshire towns is dissolved the nation will -annihilate Vermont."</p> - -<p>His second embassy was with Jonas Fay, in -1779, to inform Congress of the progress of -affairs in Vermont.</p> - -<p>His third embassy was in 1780, when he was -chosen by the legislature as the chairman of -a very able and eminent committee, Stephen -R. Bradley, Moses Robinson, Paul Spooner, -and Jonas Fay, to act as counsel for Vermont -before Congress against the ablest men of New -York and New Hampshire.</p> - -<p>In 1779 he was sent to the Massachusetts -court with a letter from the governor asking -for a statement of Massachusetts' claim to -Vermont. The reply was that Massachusetts -claimed west from the Merrimac, and three -miles further north, to the Pacific. This included -part of Vermont.</p> - -<p>It is noteworthy that Allen was elected a -member of the legislature from Arlington -while his family lived in Sunderland, and he -called Bennington his "usual home." It is -notable, also, that the constitution required -every member of the legislature to take an -oath that he believed in the divine inspiration<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> -of the Bible and professed the Protestant religion, -an oath which Allen refused to take, -and yet was allowed to act as a member.</p> - -<p>It was in 1778 that Allen complained to the -court of confiscation that his brother Levi had -become a tory; had passed counterfeit Continental -money; that under pretence of helping -him while a prisoner on Long Island, he had -been detected in supplying the British with -provisions. He stated that Levi owned real -estate in Vermont and prayed that that estate -might be confiscated to the public treasury. -For this act Levi afterward challenged Ethan -to a duel, but Ethan took no notice of the challenge.</p> - -<p>In the spring of 1779 the Yorkers in Windham -County wrote to Governor Clinton that -unless New York aided them, "our persons -and property must be at the disposal of Ethan -Allen; which is more to be dreaded than death -with all its terrors."</p> - -<p>In May the superior court sat at Westminster. -Thirty-six Yorkers were in jail. Their -offence consisted in rescuing two cows from -an officer who had seized them because their -owners had refused to do military duty on the -frontier or to pay for substitutes. Ethan Al<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>len -was there by order of Governor Chittenden, -with one hundred Green Mountain Boys, -to aid the court. Three prisoners were discharged -for want of evidence, three more because -they were minors. Allen, hearing of -this, entered the court-room in his military -dress, large three-cornered hat profusely ornamented -with gold lace, and a large sword -swinging by his side. Breathless with haste, -he bowed to Chief Justice Robinson and began -attacking the attorneys. Robinson told -him the court would gladly listen to him as a -citizen, but not as a military man in a military -dress. Allen threw his hat on the table and -unbuckled his sword, exclaiming: "For forms -of government let fools contest; whate'er is -best administered is best." Observing the -judges whispering together, he said: "I said -that fools might contest, not your honors, not -your honors." To the state's attorney, Noah -Smith, he said: "I would have the young gentleman -know that with my logic and reasoning -from the eternal fitness of things, I can upset -his Blackstones, his whitestones, his gravestones, -and his brimstones." Then he continued:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Fifty miles I have come through the woods with -my brave men to support the civil with the military -arm, to quell any disturbances should they -arise, and to aid the sheriff and court in prosecuting -these Yorkers, the enemies of our noble State. -I see, however, that some of them, by the quirks -of this artful lawyer, Bradley, are escaping from -the punishment they so richly deserve, and I find -also, that this little Noah Smith is far from understanding -his business, since he at one moment -moves for a prosecution and in the next wishes to -withdraw it. Let me warn your honors to be on -your guard lest these delinquents should slip -through your fingers and thus escape the rewards -so justly due their crimes.</p></div> - -<p>Allen then put on his hat, buckled on his -sword, and departed with great dignity.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span></p> - - <div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a><a href="#CONTENTS">CHAPTER XVII.</a></h2> - -<p class="pfs70">ALLEN AT GUILFORD.—"ORACLES OF REASON."—JOHN -STARK.—ST. JOHN DE CRÈVECŒUR.—HONORS TO -ALLEN.—SHAY'S REBELLION.—SECOND MARRIAGE.</p> - - -<p>In 1782 the rebellious York element in -Windham County again called Ethan to the -field. In Guilford forty-six men ambushed -and fired on Allen's party in the evening. -Allen, knowing the terror of his name, entering -Guilford on foot, uttered this proclamation: -"I, Ethan Allen, do declare that I will -give no quarter to the man, woman, or child -who shall oppose me, and unless the inhabitants -of Guilford peacefully submit to the authority -of Vermont, I swear that I will lay it -as desolate as Sodom and Gomorrah by God."</p> - -<p>In 1784 Allen published a book entitled -"Reason, the Only Oracle of Man: or, A Compendious -System of Natural Religion." In -this book Allen endeavored to prove that the -Bible was not inspired, but he declared it a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> -necessity that a future life of rewards and punishments -follow the good and evil of this life. -His idea of the Deity is expressed in these -words:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>The knowledge of the being, perfections, creation -and providence of God and the immortality -of our souls is the foundation of our religion.</p></div> - -<p>This book contained 487 pages. Fifteen -hundred copies were issued, but most of them -were destroyed by the burning of the printing -office. Allen wrote to a friend:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>In this book you read my very soul, for I have -not concealed my opinion. I expect that the -clergy and their devotees will proclaim war with -me in the name of the Lord.</p></div> - -<p>Sometimes Allen is too profane to be repeated, -sometimes too frivolous for sacred subjects. -Speaking of his prospects of being hung -in England, he said:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>As to the world of spirits, though I know nothing -of the mode or manner of it, I expected nevertheless, -when I should arrive at such a world, -that I should be as well treated as other gentlemen -of my merit.</p></div> - -<p>Among the pleasant friends that Allen -formed at this time was John Stark. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> -hero of Ticonderoga had never met the hero -of Bennington. Three weeks after Allen's -arrival in Bennington, Stark wrote to him proposing -an interview at Albany, where he was -stationed as brigadier-general in command of -the northern department. He also wrote to -General Gates:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>I should be very glad to have Colonel Ethan -Allen command in the grants, as he is a very -suitable man to deal with tories and such like -villains.</p></div> - -<p>Four days later Gates wrote Stark:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>I now inclose two letters, one to Colonel Ethan -Allen and one to Colonel Bedel ... it may not -be amiss to take Colonel Allen's opinion on the -subject, with whom I wish you to open a correspondence.</p></div> - -<p>Another pleasant episode in Allen's life was -his association with St. John de Crèvecœur, -who was the French consul in New York for -ten years following the revolution. Sieur -Crèvecœur married an American Quakeress, -bought a farm which he cleared, wrote a book -in English called "Letters from an American -Farmer," and three volumes in French about -upper Pennsylvania and New York. He wrote<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span> -to Ethan Allen proposing to have the Vermont -state seal engraved in silver by the king's -best engravers, asked for maps of the state, -suggested naming some towns after French -statesmen who had befriended America. (St. -Johnsbury was named for Crèvecœur.) He -asked Allen for copies of his "Oracles of Reason" -and also for some seeds.</p> - -<p>Instances multiply showing the prominence -of Ethan Allen in the new state. During -Shay's rebellion in Massachusetts, before attempting -to seize the United States arsenal at -Springfield, he sent two of his principal officers -to Ethan Allen offering to him the command -of the Massachusetts insurgents, representing -one-third of the population of that -state. Allen rejected the offer with contempt -and ordered the messengers to leave the state. -He also wrote to the governor of Massachusetts -and Colonel Benjamin Simmons, of western -Massachusetts, informing them of the efforts -made in Vermont by malcontents from -that state, and that Vermont was exerting herself -vigorously to prevent the evil consequences -of the insurgents' action, and promising the -most cordial co-operation in the future.</p> - -<p>The incidents of Allen's life and his writ<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>ings -are not published in any one volume, but -are scattered through ill-bound primers, are -found in fiction, in addresses, and in huge -double-column tomes which are not accessible -to the people.</p> - -<p>The story of his second marriage gives a -vivid picture of the rough-and-ready audacious -soldier. On the 9th of February, 1784, the -judges of the supreme court were at breakfast -with lawyer Stephen R. Bradley, of Westminster, -when General Allen, in a sleigh with -a span of dashing black horses and a colored -driver, drove up to the house. Passing through -the breakfast-room, he found in the next room -the spirited young widow of twenty-four summers, -Mrs. Frances Buchanan, who was living -in the house with her mother, Mrs. Wall. -Dressed in her morning gown, Mrs. Buchanan -was standing on a chair arranging china and -glass on some upper shelves. She amused her -visitor with some witticism about the broken -decanter in her hands; a brief chat ensued, -then Allen said: "Fanny, if we are ever to be -married, now is the time, for I am on my way -to Arlington."</p> - -<p>"Very well," she replied; "give me time to -put on my josie."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span></p> - -<p>The couple passed into a third room, where -the judges were smoking, and Allen said:</p> - -<p>"Judge Robinson, this young woman and -myself have concluded to marry each other, -and to have you perform the ceremony."</p> - -<p>"When?"</p> - -<p>"Now! For myself I have no great opinion -of such formality, and from what I can discover -she thinks as little of it as I do. But as -a decent respect for the opinion of mankind -seems to require it, you will proceed."</p> - -<p>"General, this is an important matter, and -have you given it serious consideration?"</p> - -<p>"Certainly; but," here the general glanced -proudly at his handsome and accomplished -bride, twenty-two years younger than himself, -perhaps also conscious of his own mature, stalwart -symmetry, "I do not think it requires -much consideration in this particular case."</p> - -<p>"Do you promise to live with Frances agreeably -to the law of God?"</p> - -<p>"Stop! stop!" cried Allen, looking out of -the window. "Yes, according to the law of -God as written in the great book of Nature. -Go on! go on! my team is at the door."</p> - -<p>Soon the bride's guitar and trunk were in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> -the sleigh and the bells jingled merrily as they -dashed westward.</p> - -<p>Before his second marriage John Norton, a -tavern-keeper of Westminster, said:</p> - -<p>"Fanny, if you marry General Allen you will -be the queen of a new state."</p> - -<p>"Yes," she replied, "and if I should marry -the devil I would be queen of hell."</p> - -<p>The children of the second marriage were -three: one daughter who died in a nunnery -in Montreal, and two sons who became officers -in the United States Army and died at Norfolk, -Va. Ethan Allen, of New York, is a -grandson of the second wife.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span></p> - - <div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a><a href="#CONTENTS">CHAPTER XVIII.</a></h2> - -<p class="pfs70">DEATH.—CIVILIZATION IN ALLEN'S TIME.—ESTIMATES -OF ALLEN.—RELIGIOUS FEELING IN VERMONT.—MONUMENTS.</p> - - -<p>In 1787 Allen moved to Burlington, where, -for the last two years of his life, he devoted -himself to farming. Through a partial failure -of the crops in 1789, Allen found himself short -of hay in the winter. Col. Ebenezer Allen, -who lived in South Hero, an island near Burlington, -offered to supply Ethan what he -needed if he would come for it. Accordingly, -with a team and man, Ethan crossed the ice -on the 10th of February. Col. Ebenezer Allen -had invited some neighbors, who were old -friends and acquaintances, to meet his guest, -and the afternoon and evening were spent in -telling stories. Ethan was persuaded to stay -over night and the next morning started for -home with his load of hay. During the journey -his negro spoke to him several times but -received no reply. On reaching home he dis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span>covered -that his master was unconscious. He -was carried into his house and died from apoplexy -in a few hours.</p> - -<p>To estimate properly Allen's force of character -and large mind, we should appreciate -the crude civilization of the early pioneer days -of Vermont, when self-culture could only be -procured by great qualities. The population -was about five thousand, chiefly on the east -side of the mountains. The bulk of the people -lived in log houses with earthen floors, -and with windows made of oiled paper, isinglass, -raw hides, or sometimes 6 x 8 panes of -glass. Smaller log houses were used to protect -domestic animals from wolves and bears, -as well as from the inclemency of the weather. -It was the life of the frontier in the wilderness, -when the struggle for bare sustenance -left little time for the acquirement of knowledge, -much less of accomplishments.</p> - -<p>Allen is not the best representative man of -his time, but his experience was so startling, -his character so piquant, that a sketch of him -better photographs Vermont before her admission -to the Union than that of any other -man. As a statesman he was infinitely inferior -to Chipman or Bradley; as a soldier, Seth<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> -Warner, although six years younger, was his -superior; Ira Allen was more capable and -more accomplished; Governor Chittenden was -more discreet in the management of state affairs. -As a captive, absent from the state -from 1775 to 1778, Allen had nothing to do -with the adoption of the constitution or the -first organization of our state government; as -a member of the legislature he won no reputation. -He lacked the scholarly culture and polished -suavity of the highest type of gentleman; -he was sometimes horribly profane. He delighted -in battling with the religious orthodoxy -of New England; he wrote a book to disprove -the authenticity of the Bible; yet he was energetic -in his expressions of veneration for the -being and perfection of the Deity, and a firm -believer in the immortality of the soul. -Thoroughly familiar with the history and law -of the New York controversy, his telling exposure -of the subtle casuistry of the more -learned New York lawyers; his thorough sympathy -with the settlers in all their trials and -amusements; his geniality, sociability, and -aptness in story-telling; his detestation of all -dishonesty and meanness; his burning zeal for -American freedom; his adroit success, his bit<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>ter -sufferings, even his one unlucky rashness -in attacking Montreal when deserted by the -very man who had induced him to undertake it; -his numerous writings—all combine to make -him the most popular of our state characters.</p> - -<p>Washington's masterly knowledge of human -nature gives value to his brief portrait of Allen. -Immediately on being released from captivity, -Allen visited Washington at Valley Forge. -Washington wrote to Congress in regard to -Allen.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>His fortitude and firmness seem to have placed -him out of the reach of misfortune. There is an -original something about him that commands admiration, -and his long captivity and sufferings -have only served to increase, if possible, his enthusiastic -zeal. He appears very desirous of -rendering his services to the states and of being -employed, and at the same time he does not discover -any ambition for high rank.</p></div> - -<p>Senator Edmunds says of Allen: "Ethan Allen -was a man of gifts rather than acquirements, -although he was not by any means deficient -in that knowledge obtained from reading -and from intercourse with men. But it -was the natural force of his character that -made him eminent among the worthiest who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> -founded the republic, and pre-eminent among -those who founded the state of Vermont."</p> - -<p>Col. John A. Graham, who knew Allen well -the last two or three years of his life, published -a book in England a few years after Allen's -death and therein says: "Ethan Allen was a -man of extraordinary character. He possessed -great talents but was deficient in education. -In all his dealings he possessed the strictest -sense of honor, integrity, and uprightness."</p> - -<p>The Hon. Daniel P. Thompson attributes to -him "wisdom, aptitude to command, ability -to inspire respect and confidence, a high sense -of honor, generosity, and kindness."</p> - -<p>Jared Sparks calls him "brave, generous, -consistent, true to his friends, true to his country, -seeking at all times to promote the best -interests of mankind."</p> - -<p>Governor Hiland Hall says: "He acquired -much information by reading and observation. -His knowledge of the political situation of the -state and country was general and accurate. -As a writer, he was ready, clear, and forcible. -His style attracted and fixed attention and inspired -confidence in his sincerity and justice."</p> - -<p>John Jay speaks of his writings as having -"wit, quaintness, and impudence."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span></p> - -<p>In financial skill Ethan was inferior to his -brother Ira; as a soldier he lacked the cool -judgment of Seth Warner; in administrative -ability he had neither the tact nor success of -Governor Chittenden; as a statesman he was -destitute of the learning and ability of Chipman -and Bradley; but as a patriot and friend -he was true as a star. No money, no office, -could bribe; no insults, no suffering, tame him. -As a boon companion he was rollicking and -popular. Many are the stories told of his -hearty good-will toward all. One instance will -show his power to attach the common people -to him: Finding a woman in Tinmouth dreading -to have a painful tooth drawn, in order to -encourage her he sat down and had one of his -perfectly sound teeth extracted.</p> - -<p>In religion, like Horace Greeley, Allen had -reverence for the Deity but none for the -Bible. In this he was not alone, for Vermont, -in the later eighteenth century, presented a -curious mixture of the strictest adherence to -the letter of the religious law and absolute -free-thinking.</p> - -<p>The Universalists in 1785 held their first -American convention in Massachusetts. When -this doctrine was first introduced into Ver<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span>mont, -John Norton, the Westminster tavern-keeper, -said to Ethan Allen: "That religion -will suit you, will it not, General Allen?"</p> - -<p>Allen, who knew Norton to be a secret tory, -replied in utter scorn: "No! no! for there -must be a hell in the other world for the punishment -of tories."</p> - -<p>President Dwight said: "Many of the influential -early Vermonters were professed infidels -or Universalists, or persons of equally -loose principles and morals." Judge Robert -R. Livingston wrote Dr. Franklin: "The bulk -of Vermonters are New England Presbyterian -whigs." Daniel Chipman says: "Great numbers -of the early settlers were of the set of -New-lights or Separates, who fled from persecution -in the New England States and found -religious liberty here."</p> - -<p>Before Allen took Ticonderoga, Vermont -had eleven Congregational and four Baptist -churches. For a quarter of a century (1783-1807) -towns and parishes could assess taxes for -churches and ministers. At the very threshold -of Vermont's existence the laws had a Puritanic -severity. "High-handed blasphemy" -was punished with death; while fines or the -stocks were the rewards of profane swearing,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> -drunkenness, unseasonable night-walking, disturbing -Sabbath worship, travelling Sunday, -gaming, horse-racing, confirmed tavern-haunting, -mischievous lying, and even meeting in -company Saturday or Sunday evenings except -in religious meetings. "No person shall drive -a team or droves of any kind, or travel on the -Lord's day (except it be on business that concerns -the present war, or by some adversity -they are belated and forced to lodge in the -woods, wilderness, or highways the night before)," -then only to next shelter. The wife of -the Rev. Sam. Williams was arrested in New -Hampshire for travelling on Sunday. No -Jew, Roman Catholic, atheist, or deist could -take the oath required of a member of the -legislature; for that oath professed belief in -the Deity, the divine inspiration of both Testaments, -and the Protestant religion. The Rev. -Samuel Peters, LL.D., sometimes called Bishop -Peters, tells us the Munchausen story that -he baptized into the Church of England 1,200 -adults and children amid the forests of Vermont. -In 1790 Vermont was enough of a diocese -to hold a convention of eight parishes and -two rectors.</p> - -<p>Bennington was the early nucleus of Ver<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span>mont -colonization. Samuel Robinson, of that -town, had land to sell both in Bennington and -the adjoining town of Shaftsbury. It is said -he entertained over night the new immigrants; -if Baptists, he sold them land in Shaftsbury; -if Congregationalists, he sold them land in -Bennington.</p> - -<p>What visible tokens have we of Vermont's -pride in this hero, to whom she is so much indebted -for her existence as a state?</p> - -<p>The earliest statue of Ethan Allen was by -Benjamin Harris Kinney, a native of Sunderland. -It was modelled in Burlington and exhibited -there in 1852. The Rev. Zadoc Thompson -said of it: "All who have long and carefully -examined his statue will admit that the -artist, Mr. Kinney, our respected townsman, -has embodied and presented to the eye the -ideal in a most masterly manner." The Hon. -David Read says: "The statue was examined -by several aged people who had personally -known Allen, and all pronounce it an excellent -likeness of him." Henry de Puy has -an engraving of this statue in his book about -Allen in 1853. This statue has never been -purchased from Mr. Kinney, and it is still in -his possession.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span></p> - -<p>The two statues of Allen made for the state -are the work of Larkin G. Mead, a native of -Chesterfield, N. H., reared and educated in -Brattleboro. One of them, at the entrance of -the state-house in Montpelier, is of Rutland -marble. The other one, in the Capitol at -Washington, is of Italian marble.</p> - -<p>The fourth statue was unveiled at Burlington, -the 4th of July, 1873. It was made at -Carrara, Italy, after a design by Peter Stephenson, -of Boston. It is 8 ft. 4 in. high, stands -on a granite shaft 42 ft. in height, in Green -Mountain Cemetery, on the banks of the Winooski.</p> - -<p class="p1 center">"<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">Siste viator! Heroa calcas!</i>"</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - - <div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="FOOTNOTES" id="FOOTNOTES">FOOTNOTE:</a></h2> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> This letter, like others, is given verbatim, despite some evident -errors of phraseology.</p></div> - - -<p class="p2 pg-brk" /> -<hr class="fulla" /> -<hr class="fulla" /> -<hr class="fulla" /> -<p class="p2" /> - -<p class="pfs120"><em>D. APPLETON & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS.</em></p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="fs80"> -<p class="center"><em>New revised edition of Bancroft's History of the United States.</em></p> - - -<p class="negin2 lht"><b>HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES</b>, from the Discovery -of the Continent to the Establishment of the Constitution in 1789. -By <span class="smcap">George Bancroft</span>. Complete in 6 vols., 8vo, printed from new -type. Cloth (blue or brown), uncut, with gilt top, $15.00; sheep, -marble edge, $21.00; half morocco, uncut, gilt top, $27.00; half -grained morocco, gilt top, $27.00; half calf, marble edge, $27.00. -Vol. VI contains the History of the Formation of the Constitution -of the United States, and a Portrait of Mr. Bancroft.</p> - - -<p>In this edition of his great work the author has made extensive -changes in the text, condensing in places, enlarging in others, and carefully -revising. It is practically a new work embodying the results of -the latest researches, and enjoying the advantage of the author's long -and mature experience.</p> - -<p class="lhtx">"On comparing this work with the corresponding volume of the 'Centenary' -edition of 1876, one is surprised to see how extensive changes the author -has found desirable, even after so short an interval. The first thing that strikes -one is the increased number of chapters, resulting from subdivision. The first -volume contains two volumes of the original, and is divided into thirty-eight -chapters instead of eighteen. This is in itself an improvement. But the new -arrangement is not the result merely of subdivision; the matter is rearranged in -such a manner as vastly to increase the lucidity and continuousness of treatment. -In the present edition Mr. Bancroft returns to the principle of division -into periods, abandoned in the 'Centenary' edition. His division is, however, -a new one. As the permanent shape taken by a great historical work, this new -arrangement is certainly an improvement."—<cite>The Nation</cite> (<em>New York</em>).</p> - -<p class="lhtx">"The work as a whole is in better shape, and is of course more authoritative -than ever before. This last revision will be without doubt, both from its desirable -form and accurate text, the standard one."—<cite>Boston Traveller.</cite></p> - -<p class="lhtx">"It has not been granted to many historians to devote half a century to the -history of a single people, and to live long enough, and, let us add, to be willing -and wise enough, to revise and rewrite in an honored old age the work of a -whole lifetime."—<cite>New York Mail and Express.</cite></p> - -<p class="lhtx">"The extent and thoroughness of this revision would hardly be guessed without -comparing the editions side by side. The condensation of the text amounts -to something over one third of the previous edition. There has also been very -considerable recasting of the text. On the whole, our examination of the first -volume leads us to believe that the thought of the historian loses nothing by the -abbreviation of the text. A closer and later approximation to the best results of -scholarship and criticism is reached. The public gains by its more compact -brevity and in amount of matter, and in economy of time and money."—<cite>The Independent</cite> -(<em>New York</em>).</p> - -<p class="lhtx">"There is nothing to be said at this day of the value of 'Bancroft.' Its authority -is no longer in dispute, and as a piece of vivid and realistic historical -writing it stands among the best works of its class. It may be taken for granted -that this new edition will greatly extend its usefulness."—<cite>Philadelphia North -American.</cite></p> - - -<hr class="chap pg-brk" /> - -<p class="center lsp">BIOGRAPHY.</p> - -<p class="negin2"><b>THE LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE</b>, INVENTOR OF -THE RECORDING TELEGRAPH. By <span class="smcap">S. I. Prime</span>. Illustrated -with Steel Plates and Wood Engravings. 8vo. Cloth, $5.00; -sheep, $6.00; half morocco, $7.50; morocco, $10.00.</p> - -<p class="negin2"><b>LIFE OF EMMA WILLARD.</b> By <span class="smcap">John Lord</span>, LL. D. With -two Portraits on Steel. 12mo. Cloth, $2.00.</p> - -<p class="negin2"><b>RECOLLECTIONS AND OPINIONS OF AN OLD PIONEER.</b> -By <span class="smcap">P. H. Burnett</span>, First Governor of the State of -California. 12mo. Cloth, $1.75.</p> - -<p class="lhtx">Mr. Burnett's life has been full of varied experience, and the record takes the -reader back prior to the discovery of gold in California, and leads him through -many adventures and incidents to the time of the beginning of the late war.</p> - -<p class="lhtx">"I have been a pioneer most of my life; whenever, since my arrival in California, -I have seen a party of immigrants, with their ox-teams and white-sheeted -wagons, I have been excited, have felt younger, and was for the moment anxious -to make another trip."—<cite>The Author.</cite></p> - -<p class="negin2"><b>LIFE OF JOHN RANDOLPH, OF ROANOKE.</b> By -<span class="smcap">Hugh H. Garland</span>. Portraits. Two volumes in one. 8vo. Cloth, -$2.00.</p> - -<p class="negin2"><b>ELIHU BURRITT</b>: A MEMORIAL VOLUME, CONTAINING A -SKETCH OF HIS LIFE AND LABORS. With Selections from -his Writings and Lectures, and Extracts from his Private Journals -in Europe and America. Edited by <span class="smcap">Charles Northend</span>, A. M. -12mo. Cloth, $1.75.</p> - -<p class="negin2"><b>THE LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF DR. LEWIS -F. LINN.</b> FOR TEN YEARS A SENATOR OF THE UNITED -STATES FROM THE STATE OF MISSOURI. By <span class="smcap">E. A. Linn</span> and -<span class="smcap">N. Sargent</span>. With Portrait. 8vo. Cloth, $2.00.</p> - -<p class="negin2"><b>OUTLINE OF THE PUBLIC LIFE AND SERVICES -OF THOMAS F. BAYARD</b>, SENATOR OF THE UNITED -STATES FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE, 1869-1880. -With Extracts from his Speeches and the Debates of Congress. By -<span class="smcap">Edward Spencer</span>. 12mo. Paper, 50 cents; cloth, $1.00.</p> - -<p class="negin2"><b>THE LAST YEARS OF DANIEL WEBSTER.</b> A MONOGRAPH. -By <span class="smcap">George T. Curtis</span>. 8vo. Paper, 50 cents.</p> - -<p class="negin2"><b>REPRESENTATIVE NAMES IN ENGLISH LITERATURE.</b> -By <span class="smcap">H. H. Morgan</span>. 8vo. Cloth, $1.00.</p> - -<p class="negin2"><b>THE NOVELS AND NOVELISTS OF THE EIGHTEENTH -CENTURY</b>, IN ILLUSTRATION OF THE MANNERS AND -MORALS OF THE AGE. By <span class="smcap">W. Forsyth</span>. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p class="negin2"><b>LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF SALMON PORTLAND -CHASE.</b> By <span class="smcap">J. W. Schuckers</span>. Illustrated. 8vo. -Cloth, $5.00; sheep, $6.00; half morocco, $7.50.</p> - -<p class="negin2"><b>MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN.</b> New edition, -revised, and with Additions. With numerous Maps and Portraits. -2 vols., 8vo. Cloth, $5.00.</p> - -<p class="lhtx">This edition of General Sherman's memoirs has been thoroughly revised, and -contains two new chapters and important appendices. Fifteen maps and several -portraits, not given in the first edition, enrich the present issue. The portraits -consist of engravings on steel of Generals Sherman, Thomas, Schofield, -and McPherson, and a phototype group of corps commanders. The new chapter -at the end of the work, entitled "After the War," throws light on recent controversies -in regard to President Johnson's purpose in wishing to send General -Grant to Mexico. The appendices contain numerous letters from army commanders -bearing upon events of the war.</p> - -<p class="negin2"><b>THE LIFE OF DAVID GLASGOW FARRAGUT</b>, FIRST -ADMIRAL OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY, EMBODYING -HIS JOURNAL AND LETTERS. By his Son, <span class="smcap">Loyall Farragut</span>. -With Portraits, Maps, and Illustrations. 8vo. Cloth, $4.00; sheep, -$5.00; half morocco, $6.00.</p> - -<p class="lhtx">"The book is a stirring one, of course; the story of Farragut's life is a tale -of adventure of the most ravishing sort, so that, aside from the value of this -work as an authentic biography of the greatest of American naval commanders, -the book is one of surpassing interest, considered merely as a narrative of difficult -and dangerous enterprises and heroic achievements."—<cite>New York Evening -Post.</cite></p> - -<p class="negin2"><b>FARTHEST NORTH</b>; <span class="smcap">Or</span>, THE LIFE AND EXPLORATIONS -OF LIEUTENANT JAMES BOOTH LOCKWOOD, OF THE -GREELY ARCTIC EXPEDITION. With Portrait, Map, and Illustrations. -By <span class="smcap">Charles Lanman</span>. Small 12mo. Cloth, $1.25.</p> - - -<hr class="chap pg-brk" /> - -<p class="drop-capx"><span class="lsp"><em>THE REAR-GUARD OF THE REVOLUTION.</em></span> -By <span class="smcap">James R. Gilmore</span> (Edmund Kirke). With Portrait of -John Sevier, and Map. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p class="noindent lhtx">"The Rear-Guard of the Revolution" is a narrative of the adventures of the -pioneers that first crossed the Alleghanies and settled in what is now Tennessee, under -the leadership of two remarkable men, James Robertson and John Sevier. The title -of the book is derived from the fact that a body of hardy volunteers, under the leadership -of Sevier, crossed the mountains, and by their timely arrival secured the defeat -of the British army at King's Mountain.</p> - -<p class="drop-capx"><span class="lsp"><em>JOHN SEVIER AS A COMMONWEALTH-BUILDER.</em></span> -A Sequel to "The Rear-Guard of the Revolution." -By <span class="smcap">James R. Gilmore</span> (Edmund Kirke). 12mo. -Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p class="noindent lhtx">John Sevier was among the pioneers who settled the region in Eastern Tennessee. -He was the founder of the State of Franklin, which afterward became Tennessee, and -was the first Governor of the State. His innumerable battles with the Indians, his remarkable -exploits, his address and genius for leadership, render his career one of the -most thrilling and interesting on record.</p> - -<p class="drop-capx"><span class="lsp"><em>THE ADVANCE-GUARD OF WESTERN -CIVILIZATION.</em></span> By <span class="smcap">James R. Gilmore</span> (Edmund Kirke). -With Map, and Portrait of James Robertson. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50.</p> - -<p class="noindent lhtx">This work is in a measure a continuation of the thrilling story told by the author in -his two preceding volumes, "The Rear-Guard of the Revolution" and "John Sevier -as a Commonwealth-Builder." The three volumes together cover, says the author -in his preface, "a neglected period of American history, and they disclose facts well -worthy the attention of historians—namely, that these Western men turned the tide -of the American Revolution, and subsequently saved the newly-formed Union from -disruption, and thereby made possible our present great republic."</p> - -<p class="drop-capx"><em><span class="lsp">THE TWO SPIES:</span> Nathan Hale and John André.</em> -By <span class="smcap">Benson J. Lossing</span>, LL. D. Illustrated with Pen-and-ink -Sketches. Containing also Anna Seward's "Monody on Major -André." Square 8vo. Cloth, gilt top, $2.00.</p> - -<p class="lhtx">Illustrated by nearly thirty engravings of portraits, buildings, sketches by André, -etc. Contains also the full text and original notes of the famous "Monody on Major -André," written by his friend Anna Seward, with a portrait and biographical sketch -of Miss Seward, and letters to her by Major André.</p> - - -<hr class="chap pg-brk" /> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 150px;"> -<img src="images/ad1-200.jpg" alt="" /> -<div class="captionx">JOHN BACH MCMASTER.</div> -</div> - -<p class="drop-capx"><span class="lsp"><em>HISTORY OF THE PEOPLE -OF THE UNITED STATES</em>,</span> from -the Revolution to the Civil War. By -<span class="smcap">John Bach McMaster</span>. To be completed -in five volumes. Vols. I, II, -and III now ready. 8vo, cloth, gilt -top, $2.50 each.</p> - -<p class="lhtx">In the course of this narrative much is written -of wars, conspiracies, and rebellions; of Presidents, -of Congresses, of embassies, of treaties, -of the ambition of political leaders, and of the -rise of great parties in the nation. Yet the history -of the people is the chief theme. At every -stage of the splendid progress which separates the -America of Washington and Adams from the -America in which we live, it has been the author's -purpose to describe the dress, the occupations, -the amusements, the literary canons of the times; to note the changes -of manners and morals; to trace the growth of that humane spirit which -abolished punishment for debt, and reformed the discipline of prisons and -of jails; to recount the manifold improvements which, in a thousand ways, -have multiplied the conveniences of life and ministered to the happiness of -our race; to describe the rise and progress of that long series of mechanical -inventions and discoveries which is now the admiration of the world, and our -just pride and boast; to tell how, under the benign influence of liberty and -peace, there sprang up, in the course of a single century, a prosperity unparalleled -in the annals of human affairs.</p> - -<p class="lhtx">"The pledge given by Mr. McMaster, that 'the history of the people shall be the -chief theme,' is punctiliously and satisfactorily fulfilled. He carries out his promise in -a complete, vivid, and delightful way. We should add that the literary execution of -the work is worthy of the indefatigable industry and unceasing vigilance with which -the stores of historical material have been accumulated, weighed, and sifted. The -cardinal qualities of style, lucidity, animation, and energy, are everywhere present. -Seldom indeed has a book in which matter of substantial value has been so happily -united to attractiveness of form been offered by an American author to his fellow-citizens."—<cite>New -York Sun.</cite></p> - -<p class="lhtx">"To recount the marvelous progress of the American people, to describe their life, -their literature, their occupations, their amusements, is Mr. McMaster's object. His -theme is an important one, and we congratulate him on his success. It has rarely been -our province to notice a book with so many excellences and so few defects."—<cite>New York -Herald.</cite></p> - -<p class="lhtx">"Mr. McMaster at once shows his grasp of the various themes and his special -capacity as a historian of the people. His aim is high, but he hits the mark."—<cite>New -York Journal of Commerce.</cite></p> - -<p class="lhtx">"... The author's pages abound, too, with illustrations of the best kind of historical -work, that of unearthing hidden sources of information and employing them, not -after the modern style of historical writing, in a mere report, but with the true artistic -method, in a well-digested narrative.... If Mr. McMaster finishes his work in the -spirit and with the thoroughness and skill with which it has begun, it will take its place -among the classics of American literature."—<cite>Christian Union.</cite></p> - - -<hr class="chap pg-brk" /> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 150px;"> -<img src="images/ad2a-200.jpg" alt="" /> -<div class="captionx">COLONIAL COURT-HOUSE. -PHILADELPHIA, 1707.</div> -</div> - -<p class="lhtx">"This work marks an epoch in the history-writing -of this country."—<cite>St. Louis Post-Dispatch.</cite></p> - -<p class="drop-capx"><span class="lsp"><em>THE HOUSEHOLD HISTORY OF THE UNITED -STATES AND ITS PEOPLE.</em></span> -<span class="smcap">For Young Americans.</span> By <span class="smcap">Edward -Eggleston</span>. Richly illustrated -with 350 Drawings, 75 Maps, -etc. Square 8vo. Cloth, $2.50.</p> - -<p class="center"><em>FROM THE PREFACE.</em></p> - -<p class="lhtx">The present work is meant, in the first instance, for the young—not alone -for boys and girls, but for young men and women who have yet to make -themselves familiar with the more important features of their country's -history. By a book for the young is meant one in which the author studies to -make his statements clear and explicit, in which curious and picturesque details -are inserted, and in which the writer does not neglect such anecdotes as -lend the charm of a human and personal interest to the broader facts of the -nation's story. That history is often tiresome to the young is not so much -the fault of history as of a false method of writing by which one contrives -to relate events without sympathy or imagination, without narrative connection -or animation. The attempt to master vague and general records of -kiln-dried facts is certain to beget in the ordinary reader a repulsion from -the study of history—one of the very most important of all studies for its -widening influence on general culture.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 150px;"> -<img src="images/ad2b-200.jpg" alt="" /> -<div class="captionx">INDIAN'S TRAP.</div> -</div> - -<p class="lhtx">"Fills a decided gap which has existed for -the past twenty years in American historical -literature. The work is admirably planned -and executed, and will at once take its place as -a standard record of the life, growth, and development -of the nation. It is profusely and -beautifully illustrated."—<cite>Boston Transcript.</cite></p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 125px;"> -<img src="images/ad2c-200.jpg" alt="" /> -<div class="captionx"><p>GENERAL PUTNAM.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="lhtx">"The book in its new dress makes a much -finer appearance than -before, and will be welcomed -by older readers -as gladly as its predecessor -was greeted by girls -and boys. The lavish use the publishers have made of colored -plates, woodcuts, and photographic reproductions, gives an unwonted -piquancy to the printed page, catching the eye as surely -as the text engages the mind."—<cite>New York Critic.</cite></p> - -<p class="lhtx">"The author writes history as a story. It can never be -less than that. The book will enlist the interest of young -people, enlighten their understanding, and by the glow of its -statements fix the great events of the country firmly in the -mind."—<cite>San Francisco Bulletin.</cite></p> - - -<hr class="chap pg-brk" /> - -<p class="drop-capx"><span class="lsp"><em>APPLETONS' CYCLOPÆDIA OF AMERICAN -BIOGRAPHY.</em></span> Complete in six volumes, royal 8vo, containing -about 800 pages each. With sixty-one fine steel portraits -and some two thousand smaller vignette portraits and views of -birthplaces, residences, statues, etc.</p> - -<p class="lhtx"><span class="smcap">Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography</span>, edited by General -<span class="smcap">James Grant Wilson</span>, President of the New York Genealogical and -Biographical Society, and Professor <span class="smcap">John Fiske</span>, formerly of Harvard University, -assisted by over two hundred special contributors, contains a -biographical sketch of every person eminent in American civil and military -history, in law and politics, in divinity, in literature and art, in science and -in invention. Its plan embraces all the countries of North and South -America, and includes distinguished persons born abroad, but related to -American history. As events are always connected with persons, it affords -a complete compendium of American history in every branch of human -achievement. An exhaustive topical and analytical Index enables the reader -to follow the history of any subject with great readiness.</p> - -<p class="lhtx">"It is the most complete volume that exists on the subject. The tone and guiding -spirit of the book are certainly very fair, and show a mind bent on a discriminate, just, -and proper treatment of its subject."—<em>From the</em> Hon. <span class="smcap">George Bancroft</span>.</p> - -<p class="lhtx">"The portraits are remarkably good. To anyone interested in American history -or literature, the Cyclopædia will be indispensable."—<em>From the</em> Hon. <span class="smcap">James Russell -Lowell</span>.</p> - -<p class="lhtx">"The selection of names seems to be liberal and just. The portraits, so far as I can -judge, are faithful, and the biographies trustworthy."—<em>From</em> <span class="smcap">Noah Porter</span>, D. D., -LL. D., <em>ex-President of Yale College</em>.</p> - -<p class="lhtx">"A most valuable and interesting work."—<em>From the</em> Hon. <span class="smcap">Wm. E. Gladstone</span>.</p> - -<p class="lhtx">"I have examined it with great interest and great gratification. It is a noble work, -and does enviable credit to its editors and publishers."—<em>From the</em> Hon. <span class="smcap">Robert C. -Winthrop</span>.</p> - -<p class="lhtx">"I have carefully examined 'Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography,' and -do not hesitate to commend it to favor. It is admirably adapted to use in the family -and the schools, and is so cheap as to come within the reach of all classes of readers -and students."—<em>From</em> <span class="smcap">J. B. Foraker</span>, <em>ex-Governor of Ohio</em>.</p> - -<p class="lhtx">"This book of American biography has come to me with a most unusual charm. It -sets before us the faces of great Americans, both men and women, and gives us a perspective -view of their lives. Where so many noble and great have lived and wrought, -one is encouraged to believe the soil from which they sprang, the air they breathed, and -the sky over their heads, to be the best this world affords, and one says, 'Thank God, -I also am an American!' We have many books of biography, but I have seen none -so ample, so clear-cut, and breathing so strongly the best spirit of our native land. No -young man or woman can fail to find among these ample pages some model worthy of -imitation."—<em>From</em> <span class="smcap">Frances E. Willard</span>, <em>President N. W. C. T. U.</em></p> - -<p class="lhtx">"I congratulate you on the beauty of the volume, and the thoroughness of the -work."—<em>From the</em> Rev. <span class="smcap">Phillips Brooks</span>, D. D.</p> - -<p class="lhtx">"Every day's use of this admirable work confirms me in regard to its comprehensiveness -and accuracy."—<em>From</em> <span class="smcap">Charles Dudley Warner</span>.</p> - - -<p class="lhtx"><em>Price, per volume, cloth or buckram, $5.00; sheep, $6.00; half calf or half morocco, -$7.00. Sold only by subscription. Descriptive circular, with specimen pages, -sent on application. Agents wanted for districts not yet assigned.</em></p> - - -<hr class="chap pg-brk" /> - -<p class="pfs80 lsp">THE</p> - -<p class="pfs240"><span class="smcap">Historical Reference-Book</span>,</p> - -<p class="pfs70">COMPRISING:</p> - -<p class="pfs100"><em>A Chronological Table of Universal History, a Chronological Dictionary -of Universal History, a Biographical Dictionary</em>.</p> - -<p class="pfs100 bold">WITH GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES.</p> - -<p class="pfs100">FOR THE USE OF STUDENTS, TEACHERS, AND READERS.</p> - -<p class="pfs120 bold"><em>By LOUIS HEILPRIN.</em></p> - -<p class="pfs90 bold">New edition. Crown 8vo. Half leather, $3.00.</p> - -<p class="lhtx">"A second revised edition of Mr. Louis Heilprin's 'Historical Reference-Book' has -just appeared, marking the well-earned success of this admirable work—a dictionary -of dates, a dictionary of events (with a special gazetteer for the places mentioned), and -a concise biographical dictionary, all in one, and all in the highest degree trustworthy. -Mr. Heilprin's revision is as thorough as his original work. Any one can test it by -running over the list of persons deceased since this manual first appeared. Corrections, -too, have been made, as we can testify in one instance at least."—<cite>New York -Evening Post.</cite></p> - -<p class="lhtx">"One of the most complete, compact, and valuable works of reference yet produced."—<cite>Troy -Daily Times.</cite></p> - -<p class="lhtx">"Unequaled in its field."—<cite>Boston Courier.</cite></p> - -<p class="lhtx">"A small library in itself."—<cite>Chicago Dial.</cite></p> - -<p class="lhtx">"An invaluable book of reference, useful alike to the student and the general reader. -The arrangement could scarcely be better or more convenient."—<cite>New York Herald.</cite></p> - -<p class="lhtx">"The conspectus of the world's history presented in the first part of the book is as -full as the wisest terseness could put within the space."—<cite>Philadelphia American.</cite></p> - -<p class="lhtx">"We miss hardly anything that we should consider desirable, and we have not been -able to detect a single mistake or misprint."—<cite>New York Nation.</cite></p> - -<p class="lhtx">"So far as we have tested the accuracy of the present work we have found it without -flaw."—<cite>Christian Union.</cite></p> - -<p class="lhtx">"The conspicuous merits of the work are condensation and accuracy. These points -alone should suffice to give the 'Historical Reference-Book' a place in every public -and private library."—<cite>Boston Beacon.</cite></p> - -<p class="lhtx">"The method of the tabulation is admirable for ready reference."—<cite>New York -Home Journal.</cite></p> - -<p class="lhtx">"This cyclopædia of condensed knowledge is a work that will speedily become a -necessity to the general reader, as well as to the student."—<cite>Detroit Free Press.</cite></p> - -<p class="lhtx">"For clearness, correctness, and the readiness with which the reader can find the -Information of which he is in search, the volume is far in advance of any work of its -kind with which we are acquainted."—<cite>Boston Saturday Evening Gazette.</cite></p> - -<p class="lhtx">"The latest dates have been given. <em>The geographical notes which accompany -the historical incidents are a novel addition, and exceedingly helpful.</em> The size also -commends it, making it convenient for constant reference, while the three divisions -and careful elimination of minor and uninteresting incidents make it much easier to -find dates and events about which accuracy is necessary. Sir William Hamilton avers -that too retentive a memory tends to hinder the development of the judgment by presenting -too much for decision. A work like this is thus better than memory. It is a -'mental larder' which needs no care, and whose contents are ever available."—<cite>New -York University Quarterly.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<p class="p1" /> -<hr class="r15a" /> -<p class="pfs80">New York: D. APPLETON & CO., 1, 3, & 5 Bond Street. -</p> - - -<hr class="full pg-brk" /> - -<div class="transnote"> -<a name="TN" id="TN"></a> -<p><strong>TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE</strong></p> - -<p>Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been -corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within -the text and consultation of external sources.</p> - -<p>Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, -and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained. For example, -imputedly; predestinated; mimicing; enkindled; turkies; land-jobbers, -land jobbers.</p> - -<p> -<a href="#Page_9">Pg 9</a>, '"History of "Vermont,' replaced by '"History of Vermont",'.<br /> -<a href="#Page_19">Pg 19</a>, 'origial' replaced by 'original'.<br /> -<a href="#Page_133">Pg 133</a>, 'thy' replaced by 'they'.<br /> -<a href="#Page_140">Pg 140</a>, 'aleak' replaced by 'a leak'.<br /> -</p> -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Ethan Allen, by Henry Hall - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ETHAN ALLEN *** - -***** This file should be named 50929-h.htm or 50929-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/9/2/50929/ - -Produced by David Edwards, John Campbell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you - are located before using this ebook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - - - -</pre> - -</body> -</html> diff --git a/old/50929-h/images/ad1-200.jpg b/old/50929-h/images/ad1-200.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index b47230b..0000000 --- a/old/50929-h/images/ad1-200.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50929-h/images/ad2a-200.jpg b/old/50929-h/images/ad2a-200.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 9a34916..0000000 --- a/old/50929-h/images/ad2a-200.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50929-h/images/ad2b-200.jpg b/old/50929-h/images/ad2b-200.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 192c51b..0000000 --- a/old/50929-h/images/ad2b-200.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50929-h/images/ad2c-200.jpg b/old/50929-h/images/ad2c-200.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 86f3ddc..0000000 --- a/old/50929-h/images/ad2c-200.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50929-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/50929-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index e1cc731..0000000 --- a/old/50929-h/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50929-h/images/titlepage.jpg b/old/50929-h/images/titlepage.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 3368f02..0000000 --- a/old/50929-h/images/titlepage.jpg +++ /dev/null |
